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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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Shelf ..Li.S_. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

FROM ITS EARLIEST DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS 
TO THE END OF THE YEAR 1894. 



BY GEORGE D. FREE, A. M., 

Author of "A Popular Geograj)hy, " "'The Principles of Civil Government in the 
United States and State of Tennessee," "•Map of Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee," '^Rare Gems," '"Our Girls," ^^History and 
Civil Government/' ''Marriage and Di- 
vorce," '•Immigration," Etc. 



"iJreathes there the man with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said 
•This is mv own, mv native land ?' " 



SEAL OF 




Adapted for General Reading and the Use of Schools. C(^t^ 



Copyrighte 1. 1895, by G. D. Free, Church Hill. Ky. 



CIII'RC'II Hll.L. K\'. : 

'rinted for the Authtn 

1895. 



^A POPULAR GEOGRAPHY,|r 



An absolutely new book just from the press, containing full and explicit detini- 
tions. etc., concisely and accurately compiled from all recent authentic sources. 
The matter is admirably adapted to all. for the diction is simple and pure, th^ 
style clear and direct, and the manner of presentation bright and attractive. 
Wonderfully compact, marvelously complete, beautifully printed, and excellent 
material. Hundreds of books have been consulted in its preparation. Mathe- 
matical and Physical Geography are stripped of all abstruse technicalities and 
plainly and forcibly presented in such an attractive manner as to instinctively en- 
gross the student's attention, thereby urging him to scientifically investigate and 
carefully dissect the infinitesimal beauties of nature. The various phenomena 
are graphically exx)lained. Political Geography is discussed by the Socratic 
method. Every conceivable question of potent interest that would likely be asked 
in the most rigid examination is intelligently propounded and concisely and cor- 
rectly answered just below it. 



A FEVs^ TESTIMONIALS. 

Popular Educator, Boston, Mass.: "Prof. Free has given in a succinct manner 
all the essentials of mathematical, physical and political geography. He gives 
these in the form of definition of terms, and makes a valuable book for teachers 
preparing for examinations. It is a most convenient and servicieable compendium 
of geographical definitions for teachers and general readers." 

Southern School .Journal, Little Kock, Ark., Hon. J. H. Shinn, Supt. Public 
Instruction and ex-Pres. of S. E. A., Editor: "This book is within the reach of 
all teachers, and should be owned by each of them. It is a thesaurus of geograph- 
ical knowledge and presents in compact compass thousands of facts which teach- 
ers canned remember, but which are of indispensable importance in the teacher's 
work. The author has done a good work for teachers." 

Normal .Journal, Fort Scotc, Kansas: "The 'Popular Geography' is an excel- 
lent work. It supplements the common school geographies and affords infcjrma- 
tion of great v£.lue to both teachers and pupils. It will undoubtedly meet with a 
ready sale." 

Col. A. B. Parker, Lafayette, Ky.: "It is concise, clear, logical, fascinating and 
all in all a most valuable contribution to geographical information." 

Prof. .J. ( '. Davidson. Supt. Public Schools. Helena. Ark.: "The plan is a good 
one. and it is an attractive volume." 

Mrs. Robinson, Honolulu, S. I.: "A most excellent book." 

Miss Lula Pierce. London : "Succinctly and admirably arranged." 

Miss Jessie Ely, Toronto, Canada: "It is multum in parvo in an inimitable 
way, written by a master pen." 

Miss Lettie Seay, New York City: "A phenomenally interesting and instruc- 
tive volume, brimful of good things." 

.Joshua W. Fields, Sidney, Australia: "Every teacher should have it. I have 
never seen its equal. Prof. Free is evidently a schorlarly man and one who knows 
what a teacher needs." 

.Joseph Stephens. Denver. Col.: "I like it so much', it is theemboidimentof all 
that is good in geography." 

J. C. Lovell, San Francisco, Cal.: ".Just the very book for all preparing for ex- 
amination. It is vade mecum for all." 

.J. W. Banks. Boston, Mass.: "It is clear, concise, accurate, and contains all 
that is necessary." 

.1. U. Thomas. Tokio, .Japan : "An admirable book, brief, systematic, clear and 
forcibly written by a scholar." 

BOUND IN CLOTH, 60 CENTS. 

Correspondence solicited. Address. 

GEO. D. FREE, CilURCJI Hm.L, Kv. 



Preface. 



The histon' of Tennessee is fraught with man}^ interesting and 
bright laurels which should be made familiar to the Tennessee 
pupils w^ho will in time become the sovereign people of Tennessee. 
The boys, after attaining manhood, must make her laws, shape 
her policy, guard her honor, and maintain her high rank among 
the States of the Union. A knowledge of the legislation and 
policy of the past is a most important preparation for the wise 
exercise of this sovereignty. With such a knowledge they will 
profit by the experience of their fathers, avoiding the mistakes 
and emulating the wisdom of those who have gone before them. 
A knowledge of the past history of the State, brilliant with 
illustrious names and heroic deeds of her gallant sons, will make 
their hearts thrill with pride and patriotism, and inspire in earl}- 
youth a firm resolution to sustain the honor, promote the welfare, 
and add to the fame of Tennessee among her sister States. 

In political matters even-handed justice has been invoked 
upon every question. The author believes that the full presen- 
tation of both sides of every question is the surest and most 
direct route to truth, and that truth is the only basis for a com- 
mon love of country. 

An honest effort has been made to be accurate, clear, and 
impartial. Ever}- line has been penned with a sincere desire to 



6 THE HISTORY OF TKNNKSSEK. 

magnify the greatness of the whole State by presenting faith- 
fully the wisdom, prowess, and energy of her people. 

Historical Readings and Appendix have been added which 
contain many valuable facts for the consideration of our pupils. 
The author regards these readings as especially important to the 
young people whose fathers and grandfathers fought in that 
war — fought for something they believed to be right. No pre- 
ference is evinced in the war — fact, cold facts are given. 

The author acknowledges many favors rendered by authors 
and teachers in the preparation of this work, all of which are 
highly appreciated. In conclusion, this history is submitted to 
you, my dear pupils and co-workers, with a desire that our noble 
people, faithful teachers and genial pupils shall never cease to 
add lustre, patriotism and zeal to the development of this great 
State. George D. Free. 



Contents. 



Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 
Chapter 8 
Chapter 9 
Chapter 10 
Chapter 1 1 
Chapter 12 
Chapter 13 



I'AiiE. 

-Introduction 9 

-DeSoto and His Men 16 

-Aborigines of Tennessee 21 

-The First Settlements 26 

-Tennessee, Part of North Carolina 32 

-The State of Franklin 39 

-Middle Tennessee 46 

-West Tennessee 50 

-Early History ot Tennessee 52 

-Development of the State 56 

-The Creek War 63 

-The War of 1812-15 67 

-An Era of Peace 72 



CONTKNTS. 



Chapter 14 



Institutions Organized 79 



Chapter 15. — Great Heroes Elevated 86 

Chapter 16. — The Rise of Parties 92 

Chapter 17. — The Mexican War 97 

Chapter 18. — The Feud Strengthens 102 

Chapter 19. — ^Just Before the War 107 

Chapter 20.— The Civil War in 

Chapter 21.— The Civil War— Continued 116 

Chapter 22. — The Civil War — Continued 125 

Chapter 23. — Reconstruction 1 30 

Chapter 24. — Return of Peace 134 

Chapter 25. — The Democratic Party 142 

Chapter 26. — Geography of Tennessee 153 

Chapter 27. — Geology of Tennessee 160 

Chapter 28. — Civil Government 167 

Chapter 29. — Chronology of Tennessee, 1796-1895 172 

Chapter 30. — Historical Readings — The African Slave Trade, 

Its Origin and Growth 185 

Chapter 31. — Historical Readings — The Condition of the Ne- 
gro as a Slave 193 

Chapter 32. — Historical Readings — Why Tennessee With- 
drew from the Union 198 

Chapter 33 — Historical Readings — The Common People and 

the Aristocracy 202 

Chapter 34 — Plistorical Readings — The Common People and 

the Aristocracy — Conti nued 204 

Historical Recreations 209 

APPliNDlX. 

The Formation of Counties 211 

County Seats 213 

vState Officers from 1790 214 

Aggregate Population of the State 220 

Index 222 

Advertisements 224 



List of Illustrations. 



PAGE. 

The Capitol of Tennessee 2 

The Great Seal of Tennessee 3 

An Indian Chief 14 

An Indian Warrior 24 

Battle at Flat Islands 31 

East View of Science Hall and 

Y. M. C. A. Building 34 

James Robertson 46 

Gov. John Sevier 52 

West Tennessee Hospital for the 

Insane 54 

Gov. Willie Blount 59 

Gen. Andrew Jackson 64 

Deaf and Dumb Asvlum, Knox- 

ville ; 68 

Gov. William Carroll 75 

Court House, Clarksville 76 

Gov. Samuel Houston 80 

Gov. William Hall 81 

East Tennessee Asylum for the 

Insane 84 

Col. David Crockett 89 

Gov. Newton Cannon 89 

Hon. John Bell 90 

Hon. Felix Grundy 91 

Gov. James C. Jones 96 

Gov. Aaron V. Brown 97 

Pres. James K. Polk 99 

Gov. Neil S. Brown 102 

Gov. William Trousdale 102 



PAGE. 

27. Gov. William B. Campbell 103 

28. Southwestern Presbyterian Uni- 

versity, Clarksville 106 

29. Gov. Andrew Johnson 107 

30. Gov. Isham G. Flarris 109 

31. Diagram of Fort Donelson 120 

32. Tennessee Institute for the Blind. 1 22 
j^. Pres. Lincoln, U. S. A 123 

34. Pres. DaviS; C. S. A 124 

35. Battle of Lookout Mountain 127 

36.' Gov. William G. Brownlow 132 

37. Gov. D. W. C. Senter 135 

^8. St. Luke's Theological Hall, Uni- 
versity of the South, Sewanee..i36 

39. Gov. John C. Brown 137 

40. Gov. James D. Porter •••I3^ 

41. Gov. Albert S. Marks 140 

42. Gov. Alvin G. Hawkins 141 

43. Gov. William B. Bate 143 

44. Gov. Robert L. Taylor 145 

45. Gov. J. P. Buchanan 146 

46. Gov. Peter Turney 148 

47. Hon. H. Clay Evans 149 

48. Supt. Frank M. Smith 150 

49. Main Building, Vanderbilt Uni- 
versity, Nashville 151 

50. "Old Volunteer" 152 

51. Tennessee Flospital for the In- 

sane, Bolivar 186 




History of Tennessee. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. The religious and political condition of Europe in the fif- 
teenth century was full of unrest and unhappiness. The masses 
of people were very poor, oppressed and destitute, and the rulers 
were arrogant and cruel, and the best men and wisest thinkers 
were on the alert to better the condition of church and state and 
home. 

2. Much attention was devoted to maritime undertakings, 
hoping that the}- might bring fame and remuneration to 
the country that organized and equipped them. It was Spain 
that equipped Christopher Columbus, who discovered the new 
world in 1492, and made it known to Europe. At once, all 
Europe was enthused with an inclination to come hither, and 
ere long many nations were striving to secure domination in 
America. 

3. Of course, the first white settlers found the same rivers, hills 
and other natural features of countrs- that now exist, but. the 
country then presented a verj' different appearance from what it 



lO THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

does now. Eventhing was just as nature had placed it. The 
hand of man had not disturbed nature's order. There were no 
roads, no cities or towns, and not many fields. 

4. The natural features of the country were such as to offer many 
inducements to tillers of the ground. The soil was very prolific 
and capable of producing large crops with little labor. The 
ground, in many localities, was carpeted with the finest grasses 
which would sustain great herds of cattle. The forests abounded 
in various kinds of fine timber. 

5. On his arrival, Columbus found a people whom he called 
Indians. They were savages, who lived by hunting, fishing and 
agriculture. Their farming, however, was of the rudest kind. 
For w^eapons, the}' used bow\s and arrows and heav}' clubs. The 
males did the hunting, fighting and scalping; the females did the 
work. There were many tribes of Indians, and they were fre- 
quently at war wath each other. 

6. They believed their spirits after death w^ould return to the 
happy hunting ground of their fathers, where all would be peace 
and tranquillity. They deposited with each dead warrior his 
favorite weapon, in the vague hope of its ultimate utility. 

7. Nothing is known of the origin of the American Indians. 
Their language appears to be unlike that of any other race. 
Their civilization, customs and manners varied widely. ThOvSe 
of the northern part of the country were much more barbarous 
than those of the southw^est. The four chief families east of 
the Mississippi were Algonquins, Iroquois, Mobilians, and the 
Natchez. 

8. Formerly, historians suppOvSed there was a race that lived 
here before the Indians who built the mounds, but now it is 
believed on good authority that the Indians erected these earth- 
works. They are fortifications, burial mounds, inclosures of 
villages, and ridges of earth, shaped like serpents and animals, 
etc. They are numerous in the Mississippi Valley. 

9. For a long while after the discovery of the new world, the 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

whole southern part of it was considered as one country. Eng- 
land, France and Spain claimed it on grounds of nearly equal 
right. At first, the English named it Virginia, but afterwards 
called that part which comprises North and South Carolina, 
Carolina. The French named it New France after their own 
country; the Spanish named it Florida. 

10. This whole section was claimed by the English becau.se 
John and Seba.stian Cabot, whom King Henry VII, of England 
had employed, visited it in 1497. The French claimed it because 
Verrazani visited the northern part of it in 1523, while in the 
.service of the French king, Francis I. The Spanish claimed it 
because Ponce de Leon, a Spani.sh explorer, visited Florida in 
1512. 

11. These nations contended bitterly for a while for the pos- 
.se-ssion of this country, but at la.st the Engli.sh became the ma.sters 
of nearly all of it. The struggle between France and Spain is 
noted for bloody butchery rather than for warfare. The Spanish 
settled in what is now Florida, and made several attempts to 
drive out the English, but failed. 

12. The country was not divided into States then as it is now, 
but presented an expanse of unexplored territor\- which all 
nations desired to penetrate in pursuit of wealth. The prestige 
and domination of foreigners in different localities frequently 
fluctuated and finally waned until there is not an acre of land in 
the United States owned by a foreign nation. This is a great 
tribute to the perseverance and prowess of our people. The 
original, feeble colonies of liberty-seeking immigrants, under 
the benign influence of Heaven, have grown into the mightiest 
nation in the world, rightly deserving the title, "the land of the 
free and the home of the brave." 

13. The Indians are, like all other rude and untutored races or 
tribes of people who have lap.sed into the lower .stages of bar- 
barism, the creatures of passion and appetite; yet none of the 
barbarous races, red, white, or black, have a more marked and 



12 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

individual character, showing the possession of latent faculties 
of mind of a high order, of resolute will, and of rare qualities of 
physical action and endurance. 

14. Gallantry among young braves, and coquetry on the part 
of the maidens, are not wanting in the social relations, however 
quietly form and expression may be given to these. In the 
wild, rude dances, heads are often bent close together as oppo- 
site lines meet, and soft whispers, covert glances, and gentle 
taps on the cheek are frequent indications that Indians 
are sensible to the charms of love signals, which are but human 
traits after all. But the courtship differs from that of the whites. 
With them, all the coyness, reserve, and pretty delays are con- 
fined to the male sex. The young squawks are bold, forward, and 
by no means delicate in urging their devotions, and a handsome 
or bright young brave is often trapped in the toils of these female 
charmers. 

15. It was the custom among Indians to invite every visitor to 
eat as soon as he entered the wigwam. The host was much 
offended if the visitor refused to eat; while the guest w^as insulted 
if the food was not set before him, even though he might have 
partaken of a meal an hour before. This custom suited the In- 
dian habits and digestion ver^- well, but to the white man it 
imposed an etiquette which often brought much pain and annoy- 
ance for him to comply with. 

16. Depending upon hunting and trapping for wnld meat, as 
the Indian did, there was usually a feast or a famine within. 
Sometimes the meat of game was all the food he had, and as long 
as this lasted the feast went on; the supply exhausted, there 
was a famine for days. The settled tribes raised corn and vege- 
tables, but these lasted only for a part of the year. During the 
winter and early spring months the improvident savage lived as 
best he could, mainly upon the wild meat of the woods. Only 
necessity drove the vagrant glutton from his wigwam, with his 
bow and arrow, to supply the needs of hunger. When 



INTRODUCTION. 1 3 

the squaws tilled the fields and gardens with their primitive 
wooden implements, in the harvest season, there was plenty to 
eat; but when the reliance was on the indolent bucks, there was 
often fast, and sometimes famine. 

17. The devices adopted by the savages to allure and betray 
an eneni}' were often curious and wonderful. They would some- 
times deceive by imitating the hoot of the owl, the human-like 
w^ail of the catamount, or the bark of the wolf, at night; or the 
call of the turke^^ the bleat of the fawn, or the bark of the dog, 
by day, and thus deceive the unsuspicious. Instances were 
known where the}- cut off the feet of buffalo and elk at the ankle 
joint, and, fastening these hoofs to their own feet, would make 
tracks through the frequented forest, and near salt springs, and 
then place themselves in ambuscade, when they were conscious 
of an enemy in the vicinity. The braves of an opposing tribe, 
falling upon these tracks of buffalo and elk, were almost sure to 
follow them and fall into the ambuscade. On one occasion, a 
small part}' of Catawbas thus ambuscaded a more powerful body 
of Shawanees, but feeling unable to give them final battle, they 
placed in the path of retreat a number of slender reeds, sharpened 
at the end and dipped in rattlesnake poison. The Shawanees, 
in pursuit, were wounded by these concealed weapons, and fell 
by the wayside. The Catawbas turned upon and overpowered 
them. 

18. When not upon the war-path the warriors are shiftless and 
indolent. Nothing arouses them but necessity or excitement. 
In the season when roasting-ears and vegetables are made 
plent}' by the labor and industry of the squaws, the men lounge 
at home utterly inactive, except in their sports. Then they 
dance with fantastic motion, play at foot-ball, or gamble with 
dice, feasting in the meantime on the fruits of the field until all 
are consumed. The squaws are able to pack immense burdens 
upon their shoulders, and to bear incredible hardships. The 
men are remarkable for their long endurance and swiftness of 



14 



THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



foot, and for their stoic forbearance under suffering and hard- 
ship. 

19. The savages are not very 
strict with their children. 
Bodily punishment is rare, 
and looked upon as degrading. 
Ducking in cold water is the 
more common punishment; 
hence the children are much 
better behaved in winter than 
in summer. Instead of a cra- 
dle for the infant, a board, 
shaven thin, is prepared. On 
this the infant is placed, with 
its back to the board at a pro- 
per distance. Near the lower 
end is a projecting piece of 
wood. This is covered with 
the softest moss, and the heels 
of the infant rest upon it. 
Over the head of the child 
there is a hoop, projecting 
four or five inches from its 
face. Two holes are bored on either side of the upper end of 
the board, for the passage of the deer skin strap. This rests on 
the forehead of the mother. The child is now bandaged to the 
board, from the feet to the shoulders, with the arms and hands 
to the sides. With this contrivance she carries.it on her shoul- 
ders, leans it against a tree, or la^-s it upon the ground. When 
of sufficient age, the board is removed, and the child taught to 
cling to its mother's shoulders, and otherwise to help itself. 

20. The Indians are ver}- superstitious; yet their religion is 
more nearly a simple deism than that of most savage nations. 
One great spirit is uniformly worshiped among them, though 




AN INDIAN CHIEF. 



INTRODUCTION. 1 5 

different tribes give him different names. On the prairies of the 
West, he was termed Wahcondah, or MavSter of Life; by the tribes 
on the Lakes, he was called Manitou, or the Spirit; and b}' the 
Miami tribes he was known by the title, Owaneeyo, or The Pos- 
sessor of all Things. They believe in a future state, in v/hich 
they shall be introduced to ample hunting grounds, and where 
their passion for hunting and sporting shall be indulged without 
limit. 

21. The Indians are immoderately fond of whiskey. But they 
prepare for a drunken debauch, in which the whole tribe joins, 
with more system and care than the whites. They put out of 
reach their tomahawks, knives, and dangerous weapons, and 
they appoint a few warriors to keep sober and preserve order. 
Both sexes then drink to excess, and soon plunge into the wildest 
orgies of intoxication. The Indians paint in black and red for 
the war dance; in green and white for the peace dance; in black 
for dances over the dead, and in various other colors for the 
green-corn dance, the Wabana, in honor of the devil and others. 
In war dances, the}^ repeat their deeds of cruelty. 

Questions. — i. What of Europe in the fifteenth century? 
What was the condition of the masses? 2. To what was 
much attention given? Why? What did Spain do? Who 
was Columbus? What did Europe do? 3. How did the colo- 
nists find the countr}- ? What of roads, cities and fields? 4. What 
did the country offer to tillers of the ground? Why? With 
what was the ground covered ? In what did the forests abound ? 
5. Whom did Columbus find? What did the males do? Fe- 
males? 6. What did the Indians believe would become of them 
after death? 7. What is known of their origin? Language? 
Customs? What tribes are mentioned ? 8. What of a previous 
race? Discuss the mounds. 9. What of the new world and 
foreign nations? 10. Why did foreign nations claim it? Name 
the explorers. 1 1 . Tell of the results of the conquests. Locate 
the different nationalities. 12. What of divisions? Power? 
Prowess? Liberty? Bound each country that sent explorers. 
Give capital. 13. Outline the nature and cu.stoms of the Indians. 



1 6 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

14. What can you say of their gallantry and courtship? 15. 
Ho.w did the Indians treat their visitors? 16. What is said of 
f^ast or famine? 17. What cunning devices and strategy did 
they adopt? 18. What is said of their indolence and sporting? 
19. Describe how the}' treated their children. 20. What was 
their religion ? 21. Describe their dances and debaucher3\ 



CHAPTER II. 

DE SOTO AND HIS MEN. 

1. In 1538, Hernando De Soto, a Spanish soldier who had 
been with Pizarro in his Concjuest of Peru, received from the 
Court of Spain a commission authorizing him to invade Florida, 
a Spanish possession in the New World. The name Florida had 
been given to a vast and almost unexplored region in the south- 
eastern portion of North America by Juan Ponce de Leon, an 
enthusiastic discoverer likewise in the vService of Spain. He 
landed on the beautiful peninsula, near the spot where St. Augus- 
tine, Florida, stands, in 1512, and commenced his famous search 
through the interior for the fountain of Eternal Youth. His 
invasion of the country was resented by the Indians, who sur- 
prised him while encamped in a swamp, killed many of his men, 
and routed the rest. De Eeon, himself mortally wounded, was 
carried to Cuba by a few faithful soldiers, where he died in 1521. 

2. De Soto's force consisted of nine hundred and fifty men. 
With these he landed at Tampa Bay in May, 1539, much to the 
astonishment of the natives, who flocked to the shore to witness 
the disembarkation. The mail-clad knights, the cross-bow men, 
and the ponderous artillery excited their deepest wonder and 
reverence, and De Soto found very little difficulty in persuading 
them that he and his men were Children of the Sun, and as such 
entitled to their worship. 

3. Turning first northward, and then westward, De Soto trav- 



DK SOTO AND HIS MEX. 1 7 

eled through Georgia, and entered Alabama. Where Mobile 
stands, a battle between the Spaniards and Indians was fought, 
the latter having by this time discovered the true character of the 
invaders. The Spaniards were victorious, but suffered intensely, 
leaving many killed and wounded on the field. After fighting 
another battle on the banks of the Black Warrior, De Soto left 
the limits of the present State of Alabama, and entered what is 
now Mississippi, probably at the place where Columbus stands. 
The country was very densely populated with Indians, who we're 
much more friendly and hospitable toward De Soto than those 
nearer the seacoast had been. 

4. De Soto passed the greater part of the winter of 1540 with 
the Chickasaws, a friendly, though brave and warlike, tribe. 
On making preparations for departure in the spring of 1541, he 
requited their hospitality by demanding of their chief a large 
number of men to transport his baggage and stores. Indignant 
at this proof of the ingratitude of the Spaniards, the Chickasaws 
made a furious night-attack upon De Soto's camp, surprising the 
troops with a shower of blazing arrows, by which their quarters 
were soon enveloped in flames. Recovering quickly from their 
surprise at this sudden attack, the Spaniards, with De Soto at 
their head, fought their way out of the burning camp, though 
forced to leave their baggage and a large number of hogs and 
horses to perish in the flames. Some of their bravest men had 
fallen in this conflict. The Indian loss was very great. 

5. De Soto never recovered from this attack of the Indians. 
His force was greatly reduced in number, his supplies were cut 
off, and his followers greatly discouraged by the combined 
attacks of sickness and the natives. His next course was in a 
northwesterly direction. In May, 1541, the discovery which has 
immortalized his name was made. Standing on the Chickasaw 
Bluff, where the city of Memphis. Tennessee, stands, he l^eheld 
the waters of the Mississippi River rolling below in solitary 
grandeur to the sea. 



1 8 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

6. De Soto died May 21, 1542, in an encampment on the 
banks of the river he had discovered. To prevent his bod}' fall- 
ing into the hands of the Indians, his men carried it at night to 
the middle of the river, and loading it with stones, deposited it 
beneath the waters. Onh- a few of De Soto's band survived to 
reach Cuba. Their great leader gone, they quarreled among 
themselves, broke up into small bands, and most of them perished 
by sickness or by the attacks of the Indians. 

7. The silence that brooded over the Mississippi River, .so far 
as Europeans were concerned, was unbroken from the date of 
De Soto's death in 1542 until 1673, when Joliette and Marquette, 
two devoted missionaries, descended the river from the mouth of 
the Wisconsin to the mouth of the Arkansas. Five 3'ears after- 
ward. La Salle, who like Joliette and Marquette was a native of 
France, projected his voyage down the great inland stream. 
Before making this voyage, he was compelled to return to France 
for official authority. On his return to America he was accom- 
panied by the Chevalier Tonti, and the two, accompanied from 
Canada by Father Zenobia, a devout Jesuit, made the perilous 
descent to the mouth of the Mississippi. 

8. La Salle found that the Indian tribes along the banks of 
the Lower Mississippi were all sun worshipers. He was greatU' 
interested in their evangelization, and Father Zenobia labored 
zealously to convert them to the religion of the Cross. After 
visiting the mouth of the Mississippi, both La Salle and the good 
priest returned to France to report the results of the expedition. 
De Tonti remained in America, having been placed in com- 
mand of Fort St. Louis, an important French post on the 
Illinois. 

9. La Salle returned to America in 1685 for the purpose of 
establishing a colony on the Mississippi. The undertaking ter- 
minated very disastrously. His vessels were wrecked, most of 
his colonists and a number of his crew were lost, and he himself 
was treacherously murdered b}' some of his companions while 



DE SOTO AND HIS MEN. I9 

trying to cut a path through the vast wilderness that lay between 
the mouth of the Mississippi and Fort St. Louis. 

10. In 1699 the attempt to plant a French colony near the 
mouth of the Mississippi was successfully made by Iberville, a 
gallant soldier who had distinguished himself in the wars between 
France and Great Britain. With several vessels placed under 
his command by the Government of France, Iberville, after a 
fair voyage across the Atlantic, anchored on February i, 1699, 
in the harbor of Ship Island. Accompanied by a strong force, 
Iben-ille left his ships and proceeded to explore the surrounding 
country in the hope of finding a suitable place for a settlement. 
With two of their ships' boats and some canoes obtained from 
the Indians, they entered the Mississippi River March 2, 1699. 
The Indians living along its banks received them kindly, exhib- 
iting presents given them by La Salle and De Tonti. 

11. La Salle, Marquette, Talon and Montcalm had an idea 
that the country could be easily subjugated by establishing trad- 
ing posts on the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers and gradually 
extending these posts to the tributaries of these and other rivers, 
thereby increasing the French prestige and sway to the Pacific 
Ocean. Subsequently, trading posts were placed on the Ohio 
and the Mississippi. Bribery, artifice, cunning and cruelty were 
the instruments for the accomplishment of their heinous under- 
taking to secure power, prestige and possessions in America. 

12. Tradition, founded upon ingenious supposition and a super- 
ficial resemblance of topographical features, says that De Soto, on 
his wonderful march of discovery and conquest, which is the 
brightest and saddest feature in American colonization, entered 
the eastern part of the then unknown Tennessee, and turning 
westward across the country, continued his journey until he 
reached the Mississippi at a village which the Indians called 
Chisca, which occupied the present seat of Memphis. 

13. De Soto crossed a tedious range of mountains, passed 
through regions of country rich in harvests and thicklv .settled 



20 THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

by Indians, full of valleys, brooks, rivers and forCvSts. Many 
days marching led him through the provinces of Indians who 
inhabited this country, until he reached the "Father of Waters." 
Repeated efforts have been made to prove the exact journey, but 
with futile results. History says little about it, imagination 
does the rest. 

14. It is not deemed necessary to pursue this chieftain further; 
his object was conquest and colonization; in both he failed. The 
generous mind S3nnpathizes in his reverses of fortune, and after 
watching his fruitless expeditions on the banks of the MissivSsippi, 
in the wild and boundless vSolitude of contiguous territory, we see 
he at last returns to die in the secluded forest upon the shore of 
this great river, Mississippi. 

15. De Soto's death and the enormous expenditure of 100,000 
ducats necessan- to equip this expedition, the failure to find gold 
or to achieve any of the objects of the undertaking, discouraged 
the Europeans, and it was not till 1673 that another effort from 
Europe to explore the present Tennessee, was made. 

Questions. — i. Who was Hernando De Soto? De Leon? 
2. How many men did De Soto have? How did the natives 
view him? 3. Describe his journey through Georgia, Alabama 
and Mississippi. 4. With what Indians did he winter? What 
did he demand? Describe the conflict. 5. What effect did this 
have on him? What did he discover in May, 1541 ? 6. De Soto 
died when? Where? What did his men do? 7. What occurred 
in 1673? Who were Joliette and Marquette? What was their 
object? 8. What did La Salle find? In what was he interested? 
9. Why did La Salle return in 1685? How did the undertaking- 
end? 10. What did Iberville do? How did the Indians receive 
him? II. What did the French think? Do? 12. What does 
tradition say of De Soto's journey? 13. Describe this journey. 
Whom did he find? 14. Did De Soto succeed? He died where? 
15. What was the effect of this futile effort? 



ABORIGINES OF TENNESSEK. 21 



CHAPTER III. 



ABORIGINES OF TENNEvSSEE. 



I. In the early days when nomadic, marauding parties took 
perennial pleasure in tantalizing the ignorant Indians about their 
possessions, it was a difficult matter to secure and maintain their 
friendship. From time immemorial the Indians had held undis- 
puted ownership and control of the lands which they occupied, 
and which gave them contentment. 

Z. With a vague unrest and a jealous eye, they viewed wath 
dread, disgust and alarm the incursions and approaches of the 
white man, apprehending that these forays would terminate in 
the Europeans possessing this country. The Indians did 
what they could to retain their hunting grounds, the title of 
which, through the untiring energy and shrewd diplomacy of 
William Pitt, slipped from them, and the sovereignty of the region 
east of the Mississippi was given to King George III. of Eng- 
land. 

3. The treaty of Paris in 1763, which the ser\'ility of a minister 
had negotiated for the stupidity of a master, brought rich gains 
to the territors' of England, and King George in 1763 issued a 
proclamation prohibiting the granting of lands to any one in the 
region west of the mountains, and beyond the sources of those 
streams which flowed into the Atlantic, no private person was 
permitted to buy from the Indians. 

4. As early as 1748, Dr. Thomas Walker with a party had 
penetrated the interior of Tennessee and named the Cumberland 
Mountains, the River, and the Gap, in honor of the royal duke 
of England. A party of nineteen, about 1761, named Walker's 
Creek and Walker's Ridge in honor of their leader. In 1764, 
Daniel Boone and Samuel Calloway attempted to explore the 



2 2 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

country; previousl}' Boone's solitary figure and unerring rifle had 
been with exploring parties often. 

5. At the time of its first explorations, Tennessee was a vast 
and almost unoccupied wilderness, a solitude over which an 
Indian hunter seldom. roamed, and to which no tribe had a dis- 
tinct claim. On account of its mild climate, rich pasturage 
and varied ranges of mountains, Tennessee had become an exten- 
sive park, of which the Indians and the beasts of the forest held 
undisputed possession. At last, the value of the country began 
to be appreciated as a hunting ground, and as affording immunity 
from the molestations of the white man. 

6. The Shawnees, according to earl 3^ French explorers and 
geographers, occupied the banks of the Lower Cumberland. 
Numerous villages abounded at times, but as the Indians wandered 
from place to place their villages were not large. Gen. Robertson 
learned from the Indians, that in 1665 the Shawnees occupied 
the country from the Tennessee River to where Nashville is, and 
north of the Cumberland; and that about 1700, they left this 
countr}^ and went north. 

7. About the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Chicka- 
saws became the allies of the Cherokees for the expul- 
sion of the Shawnees from the Cumberland Valle}-, which was 
gradually effected. In 17 14, when Mr. Charleville opened a 
store where Nashville now is, he occupied a fort of the Shaw- 
nees as his dwelling. Having been so harrassed by the enemy, 
the}^ decided to evacuate the territory, which they soon after did. 
Hearing of the vShawnees' intention to leave the Cumberland 
Valley country, the Chickasaws resolved to strike an effectual 
blow against them and secure possession of the Shawnees' store. 
The attack was successful. Many Shawnees perished. 

8. Since the hostilities of these tribes were closed by no formal 
treaties, they continued depradations when an opportunity was 
available. At length, fearing each other, all these tribes forsook 
the territory, and it remained unoccupied for sixty years. When 



ABORIGINES OF TENNESSEE. 23 

the whites began to settle it, they found the whole country west 
of the Cumberland Mountains uninhabited and abounding in many 
of the wild beasts of the forest. Occasionally, a few wandering 
Shawnees would return, and being so familiar with the countr\", 
were able to do much mischief to the white settlers. 

9. The Chickasaws inhabited the country east of the Missis- 
sippi and north of the Choctaw boundar}-; their villages and 
settlements were generally south of the 35th degree, north lati- 
tude, but they claimed all the territory within the present States 
of Kentucky and Tennessee which lies between the Tennessee 
and Mississippi Rivers, and very much north of the former. The 
territory contained no permanent settlements; it w^as used only for 
hunting grounds. 

10. These Indians were war-like, valiant, dextrous and brave. 
They exercised an unwonted influence over the Natches, Choc- 
taws and other tribes. Usually, the}- were the friends and allies 
of the Anglo-Americans; their brave but peaceable warriors were 
often instrumental in preventing hostilities between other tribes. 
So close is the affinity between the Chickasaws and Choctaws, in 
their physical appearances, languages, customs, traditions, and 
laws, that they appear to have had a common origin. 

11. The Uchees once occupied the countr}' near the mouth of 
the Hiwassee; in a battle with the Cherokees their warriors were 
exterminated; little else is known of them. The Creeks, once 
a powerful tribe, lived at times on the southern boundary of the 
State, but never settled permanently in it. Tradition says the 
Cherokees confederated with the Chickasaws for the expulsion 
of the Shawnees. The Cherokees had become quarrelsome, arro- 
gant and incautious over their success and victory in war. It is 
said that every Indian tribe has a house or town of refuge which 
is a sure asylum to protect a man-slayer, or the unfortunate cap- 
tive, if he can once enter it. Chota, five miles from Fort 
Loudon, was the cit}^ of refuge for the Cherokees. The Indians 
never forgot a cruelty inflicted upon them by a foe; they would 



24 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



go any distance, through pathless woods, over mountains and 
deep swamps, for revenge. They designated the mountains and 
streams l^y names remarkable for euphony and beauty. 

12. Oconostota was a leader of the 
Cherokees; he was fearless, blood- 
thirsty and relentless, stealth}^ of 
foot, quick of stroke, and sharp of 
fangs. In an eloquent speech he 
predicted the fate of his race, in 
these beautiful words: "This is but 
the beginning. Whole nations have 
passed awa}', and there remains not 
a stone to mark the place where rest 
the bones of our ancesors. They 
have melted like the snow before the 
rays of the sun, and their names are 
unrecorded, save in the deeds and 
the characters of thOvSe who have 
l^rought destruction upon them." 

13. "The invader has crossed the 
great sea in ships; he has not been 
stayed by broad rivers, and now he 
has penetrated the wilderness and 
overcome the ruggedness of the 

AN INDIAN WARRIOR. ,„ountaiiis. Neither will he stop 
here. He will force the Indian steadily before him across the 
Mississippi ever towards the west, to find a shelter and a refuge 
in the seclusion of solitude, but even here he will come at lavSt; 
and there being no place remaining where the Indian may dw^ell 
in the habitation of his people, he wall proclaim the extinction 
of the race, till the red man be no longer a roamer of the forests 
and a pursuer of wild game. ' ' 

14. When Daniel Boone and Col. Richard Henderson and 
others had the Indians collected at Svcamore Shoals to buy their 




ABORIGINES OF TKNNE:sSKE. 



25 



lands between the Kentucky and the Cumberland Rivers, this 
speech was delivered in words full of imaginative glow and 
pathetic eloquence, showing the gradual encroachment of the 
whites, impelled by an insatiable desire for land and a yielding 
of those who had once possessed the American continent. . The 
fated race was doomed by civilization, that unpitying personifi- 
cation of the march of the world to a higher destiny. This great 
orator signed the treaty against which he made this vigorous 
protest. 

15. The treaty of Fort Stanwix, in 1768, was made between 
the Six Nations who lived upon the northern lakes and the king 
of England. In this, the Indians ceded to the king a region of 
country north and east of the Tennessee River, which included 
the most of East Tennessee. The representatives of seventeen 
tribes signed this treaty, thereby forever transferring the title 
from them, but other tribes contended that the Six Nations had 
not an exclusive claim to these lands, but that they were the 
common hunting grounds of the Cherokees and Chickasaws. 
Reluctantly the Indians witnessed these lands settled by the 
wdiites: long and relentless wars were kept up by the Indians, 
until they were repulsed by John Sevier and James Robertson. 

16. The Cherokees inhabited the mountains of the east, ex- 
tending into Kentucky and Georgia. The Creeks lived just 
below Chattanooga. The Chickasaws lived in West Tennessee 
near where Memphis is. The Uchees inhabited the countrv 
around the site of the present Nashville. They had The Great 
Trace, a road which they traveled in coming into Tennessee. It 
ran through East Tennessee and connected the South-West and 
the North. They also had the Great Natchez Trace, which ran 
from Nashville to Natchez. 

Questions. — I. Why was it difficult to keep Indian friend- 
ship . W hy were they happy -^ 2. What did thev foresee -^ Did 
It please them? 3. When was the Treatv of Paris? What was 
It. What did King George do!* Whv ^ 4. What did Walker 



26 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

and his party do ^ When ? 5. Cxive the substance of this section. 
6. Locate the Shawnees' territory. What did Gen. Robertson 
learn? 7. Between whom and for what purpose was this con- 
spiracy? Result? 8. Why did the Indians abandon this terri- 
tory? Eventually, the vShawnees did what? 9. Locate the 
Choctaw territory. What did they claim? 10. Enumerate their 
characteristics. 1 1 . Where did the Uchees live ? What became 
of them? What of the Creeks? What of the confederation? 
Refuge? 12. Who was Oconostota ? 13. Give the substance of 
his speech. 14. Why were they assembled at Sycamore Shoals? 
Did the chief sign the treaty ? 15. Between whom was this treaty 
made? What did the Indians cede? What of war? 16. Where 
did the various tribes live? What of their Traces? 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE FIRST SETTI.EMENTS. 

1. In 1756, a treaty was made with the Cherokees for permis- 
sion to establish forts on their lands in this State. It was nego- 
tiated by Governor Dobbs, of North Carolina. The first fort in 
East Tennessee was Fort Loudon, built in 1757, under General 
Andrew Lewis, by the English, at the junction of the Tellico 
and Little Tennessee Rivers. In 1758, Colonel Byrd built Fort 
Chissel, on New River, and Fort Long Island, on Holston River. 
Stephen Holston, of Virginia, came to this vState and named the 
Holston after himself. In 1760, the garrison at Fort Loudon 
was massacred by the Indians. 

2. Daniel Boone, the pioneer for the whites, who was, in 1760, 
in Walker's party, left this inscription on a beech on Boone's 
Creek, near Jonesboro: "D. Boon cilled A BAR on tree in The 
year 1760." Nashville was visited this year by Timothy De- 
monbreun. Colonel Grant burnt, in 1761. the Indian town of 
Etchoe. The Anglo-Americans made their first permanent set- 
tlement, in 1 76 1, on the Watauga, 



THE FIRST SETTLEMKNTvS. 27 

3. It will be necessary to state briefly the perils of the 
pioneers, their hearty sacrifices for the general good, their char- 
acter, their conduct and courage in war, their uniform devotion to 
the honor and greatness of the country, their rapid advancement 
in the arts of peace, in population, in political influence; and 
the impress of their wisdom, valor and patriotism was so 
stamped upon their acts as to command the admiration of every 
Tennessean. 

4. The history of this State has no distinctive individuality 
until the erection, in 1769, of William Bean's cabin, near the 
junction of the Watauga and Boone's Creek, in what is now East 
Tennessee, but was then in the western part of North Carolina. 
William Bean's son, Russell, was the first white child born in 
Tennessee. Bean's vStation was named after him. The con- 
gested condition of business in the primitive colonies expanded 
the hopes of the settlers and infused an inclination to 
emigrate west of the mountains. When liberty and happiness 
can be obtained, the Americans have always been irrepres- 
sible. 

5. Indian warfare in the neighborhood of the Watauga had 
nearly exterminated the once powerful Indian race. The Shaw- 
nees existed only in small, wandering detachments, the most of 
whom were hidden away in the lofty Cumberland Mountains. 
The Creeks of the Cumberland region, almost to a man, had 
been massacred by the Cherokees. They, emboldened by re- 
peated successes, invaded the Chickasaw country, and had been 
repulsed with great slaughter. Far away were the Chickasaws, 
but they were kindly disposed to the infant settlement. 

6. This was an opportune time for the waves of immigration 
to deposit the germs of a new social power. The Watauga Asso- 
ciation being organized at a time peculiarly fortunate for it, little 
was to be feared except from the roving Indians until the 
Cherokees had recuperated sufficiently to make war upon the 
new colony, who knew that the foundation of a new community 



^S THE HISTORY OF TENNESvSEE. 

in those wilds meant hardship and danger. The Watauga Asso- 
ciation was composed of three settlements, of which Watauga 
was the nucleus. The other two ' were Carter's Valley settle- 
ment, from Wolf's Hill, Virginia, which was in and around the 
present site of Rogersville; and the settlement of Jacob Brown 
on the Xolichucky River, of which, for a time, Brown's store 
was the center. 

7. In North Carolina many of these emigrants saw their prop- 
erty extorted from them in illegal and exhorbitant fees; oppressive 
taxes were exacted by the sheriffs, and the manner of collecting 
them was arbitrary and tyrannical. The people had long peti- 
tioned and remonstrated against it, but the officers remained 
unpunished. When the British announced their intention to 
quarter troops in America, and to have them supported by the 
colonists, it led to much clamor and an inclination to go West. 

S. On account of the comparatively unproductive hills and 
valleys in the old States, and the absence of courts in vSouth 
Carolina, the inhabitants of the interior were prone to punish 
offenders in a summary way. In the meantime, Watauga was 
receiving constant additions from North and vSouth Carolina, the 
result of which was increase of population and expansion of the 
settlement beyond the mountain. 

9. A company of adventurers was formed, June 2, 1769, for 
the purpose of hunting and exploring w hat is now Middle Ten- 
nessee. Robert Crockett was killed near the source of the Roar- 
ing River, and after hunting eight or nine months, the rest of 
the party returned home in April, 1770. After their arrival, 
about forty formed a party, led by Colonel James Knox, who 
explored the Lower Cumberland, and being ab.sent so long, they 
secured after their return the appellation, "Long Hunters." 
May the time never come when the self-sacrificing toil and daring 
hardihood of these pioneers shall be forgotten or under\'alued. 
The misgoverned province of North Carolina continued to fur- 
nish emigrants to Watauga, The poor came for independence. 



THE FIRST SKTTLKMEXTS. 29 

the aspiring- to attain respectability Here they had exemption 
froni the supercilious anno\'ances of those who claimed pre- 
eminence over them. In 1771, Jacob Brown opened a store on 
the Xolichucky River, at Fort Cxillespie. A station was estal)- 
lished on Station Camp Creek, Sumner county. 

10. The \\'atauga Association elected a committee of thirteen 
as a kind of general body for legislative purposes. The execu- 
tive and judicial power were vested in five commissioners elected 
by the thirteen from their own l)ody. Articles were signed, the 
signers pledging themselves to abide the decision of those in 
authority. The members of the Xolichucky settlement did not 
sign the articles of the Association at first, but the Watauga 
people forced them to take the oath of "fidelity to the common 
cause. ' ' This ended Toryism there. 

11. At this juncture, the relation between the colonies and Eng- 
land was very critical. It had been for a long while full of friction 
and excitement. The English parliament claimed the right to 
tax the colonies; the latter, having no representation therein, 
protested bitterly, refused to pay the tax, and organized for 
resistance. The difference could not be adjusted, and finally it 
culminated in a long war, beginning at Lexington, Mass., April 
i9> 1775- George Washington was elected, in May, commander- 
in-chief of the American army, and the Revolution began, which 
lasted seven years, and resulted in an overthrow of the British 
rule in the United States. 

12. Our mother State strongly espoused the freedom of the 
colonies. In 1775, Mecklenburg county pas.sed famous resolu- 
tions which embodied the principles and phrases of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. The Watauga people were in full sym- 
pathy with the American cause and always helped it when 
po.ssible. They named their settlement W^ashington District. 
and in open committee acknowldged themselves indebted to 
the United Colonies for their full proportion of the Continental 
expen.ses. In 1776, their population was about six hundred. 



30 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

13. The uncertain location of the l)oundary lines between 
Virginia and North Carolina gave the settlers much uneasiness 
and inconvenience. It was discovered in 1772 that the .settle- 
ments were in North Carolina, and in territory which the Indians 
had never ceded. Watauga at once secured a ten years' lease 
from the Cherokees. A treaty was made for this purpose and 
the Indians were invited to participate in the fCvStivities. Ruf- 
fians present from Wolf's Hill settlement slew an Indian, and the 
rest retired for vengeance. A blood}- war was imminent, but 
Jatnes Robertson interceded and pleaded with their chiefs for 
peace, made excuses for the unfortunate occurrence, and thus 
temporarily averted war. These primitive people as early as 
1772 organized congregations and built two churches, where the 
Rev. Charles Cummings regularl}^ preached. 

14. Tlie British emissaries during the Revolution incited the 
Indians to deeds of barbarit}- too atrocious to chronicle. Those 
who adhered to the American cause jeopardized their lives, but 
they felt that a mighty principle was involved in their action. 
In 1776, a dangerous invasion was led by two Indians, Dragging 
Canoe and Old Abraham. An Indian squaw, Nancy Ward, 
exposed the conspiracy and warned the settlers to be ready. 
They destroyed the weak forts and gathered together in Forts 
Heaton and Watauga. The troops in Fort Heaton marched 
out and met a division of the Indians under Dragging Canoe, 
and after a hard fight at Island Flats, completely repulsed 
them. The Indians under Old Abraham attacked Fort Wat- 
auga. James Robertson, commanding, assisted by John vSevier, 
met them. There were only forty w^hites against three hundred 
Indians. The fight was stubborn, and the firm, unflinching 
courage of the whites gained the victor}-, and forced the Indians 
to retreat. 

15. In April, 1777, an act was passed by the IvCgislature of 
North Carolina, for the encouragement of the militia and volun- 
teers in prosecuting the war against that part of the Cherokees 



The first SETTtKMENTS. 



31 




BATTLE AT ISLAND FLATS. 



who still persisted in hostilities. At the same session an act was 
passed for the establishment of Courts of Pleas and Quarter Ses- 
sions, and also for appointing and commissioning Justices of the 
Peace and Sheriffs for the several courts in the District of Wash- 
ington, in this State. 

16, No frontier community had ever been better governed 
than the Watauga settlement. In war and in peace, without 
legislators or judicial tribunals, except those adopted and pro- 
vided by themselves, the settlers had lived in uninterrupted 
harmony — acting justly to all, offering violence and injury to 
none. But the primitive simplicit}' of patriarchal life, as exhib- 
ited by a small settlement in a secluded wilderness, uncontami- 
nated by contact with the artificial society of older communities, 
was forced to yield to the stern commands of progress and 
improvement. The hunter and pastoral stages of societ}' were 
to be merged into the agricultural and commercial, the civil and 
political. Hereafter, Wataug^a, happy, independent, free and 



32 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

self-reliant, the cradle of the Great West, is merged into and 
1)ec()nies a ])art of North Carolina. 

Questions. — i. What did Governor Dobbs do in 1756? What 
was the first fort in Kast Tennessee? 2. What is said of Daniel 
Boone? By whom and when was Nashville visited? 3. Why 
is it necessary to give characteristics of our ancestors ? 4. Name 
the beginning of^the State's history. 5. What of Indian war- 
fare? Name" tribes. 6. What of the Watauga Association? 
7. In North Carolina what had been the condition of affairs? 
S. Why was Watauga a favorable location? '9. When and why 
was this company formed ? Under whom was the Lower Cum- 
berland explored? 10. How was the Watauga Association's 
legislative government elected ? 11. Why did the colonists resist 
British taxation? Result? First battle? Commander? 12. 
What part did North Carolina take for liberty? 13. What gave 
the settlers uneasiness? What did Watauga do? What of 
preaching? 14. The British emissaries did what? Why? What 
occurred in 1776? Describe it. 15. North Carolina enacted 
what laws in 1777? 16. What is said of the government of the 
Watauga settlement? What became of it? 



CHAPTER V. 

TKNNKSSKK, PART OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

r. The General Assembly of North Carolina in November, 
1777, formed Washington District into a county of the same 
name, assigning to it the boundaries of the whole of the present 
great State of Tennessee. By an act passed at the same session, 
establishing Entry Takers' offices in the several counties, lands 
which had accrued or should accrue to the vState by treaty or con- 
quest, were subject to entry. 

2. At the same session of the Assembly, provision was made 
for opening a land ofhce in Washington county, at the rate of 
forty shillings per hundred acres, with the liberal permission to 



TENNESSEE, PART OF XORTfL CAROI.IXA. 33 

each head of a family to take up six hundred and forty acres 
himself, one hundred acres for his wife, and the same quantit}' 
for each of his children. The law provided that the Watauga 
settlers should not be obliged to pay for their occupancies until 
January, 1779, and then, for any surplus entered above the quan- 
tit}' before mentioned, the purchaser was required to pay five 
pounds per hundred acres. 

3. The facility for taking up the choice lands of the country', 
induced great numbers of persons, principally those without 
means, to emigrate to the frontier. A poor man, with seldom 
more than a single pack-horse on which the wife and infant were 
carried, with a few clothes and bed-quilts, a skillet and a small 
sack of meal, was often seen wending his way along the narrow 
mountain trace, with a rifle upon his shoulder — the elder sons 
carr3nng an axe, a hoe, sometimes an auger and a saw, and the 
older daughters leading or carrying the smaller children. With- 
out a dollar in his pocket when he arrived at the distant frontier, 
the emigrant became at once a large land-holder. Such men 
laid the foundation of society and government in Tennessee. 
They brought no wealth with them — but had what was far better, 
industrious and frugal habits, hardihood and enterprise, fearless- 
ness and self-reliance. With such elements in the character of 
its pioneers, any community will soon subdue the wilderness to 
the purposes of agriculture. 

4. Hitherto emigrants had reached the new settlements upon 
pack-horses and along the old trading paths or narrow traces 
that had first been blazed by hunters. Xo wagon road had been 
opened across the mountains of North Carolina to the We.st. 
The Legislature of this year, 1779, appointed commissioners to lay 
off and mark a road from the court house of Washington county 
into the county of Burke. After that road was opened, emi- 
grants of larger property began to reach the country, and some 
of the settlements assumed the appearance of greater comfort and 
thrift. 



TENNESSEE, PART OF* NORTH CAROLINA. 35 

5. Under the provisions of an act passed for encouraging the 
militia and vohmteers to prosecute the war against the Indians, 
the militia of Washington county was, for the greater part of thjs 
year, in the service of the State. This enabled every able-bodied 
man between eighteen and fifty years of age to secure the lands 
he wished to own. It had the further effect of keeping the fron- 
tier well guarded. Companies of rangers were kept upon the 
most exposed points to scour the woods and cane-brakes, and to 
pursue and disperse small parties of ill-disposed Indians who, 
hovering about the settlements, occasionally killed and plundered 
the inhabitants. Under the protection of these rangers, the 
settlements were widened and extended down Xolichucky below 
the mouth of Big Limestone, and down Holston to the treaty 
line. Indeed, the frontiers w^ere so well guarded that the Indians 
considered their incursions as perilous to themselves as they 
could be to the whites, and for a time abandoned them, causing 
the whites to become careless. 

6. The relaxation of their vigilance and care invited aggres- 
sion and a renewal of the outrages and massacres which had 
been experienced by the whites from the Indians. Soon Sulli- 
van and Greene counties were formed from Washington District. 
Washington District was added to Salisbury Judicial District, 
which contained several counties. Jonesboro, the oldest town 
in the State, was made the county seat of Washington 
county. 

7. The Tories continued depredations and formed strong bands 
for protection, centralizing their efforts against the adherents of 
the American cause. Vigilance committees were formed by the 
inhabitants for safety, and the}^ promptly reported acts of violence 
and indicted men for being Tories. The Whigs had two bodies 
of dragoons, numbering about thirty each, to punish disorderly 
conduct and they did it admirably. They required the Tory 
leaders in crime to expiate their guilt by their lives. After 
order was restored tke committees disbamded. 



36 THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

8. The Christian iniiiistry amid these scenes of violence and 
disorder, was shedding its benign influence. In 1779, Tidence 
Lane, a Baptist preacher, organized a congregation, and a church 
house was erected on Buffalo Ridge. Rev. vSamuel Doak was 
preaching in Washington and Sullivan counties. The Chicka- 
niauga Indians occupied the summit of the mountains near Look- 
out, the impregnable fortress of nature, and defied the whites to 
occupy it. They began their scalping on inoffensive emigrants. 
\'irginia and North Carolina in 1779, selected Evan Shelby to 
subdue them. He invaded their -town by water, which aston- 
ished them so that they fled, making no resistance. Shelby 
burnt their town. Five hundred Indians escaped and founded 
the five towns which subsequently annoyed the Cumberland 
settlement very much. 

9. Richard Hogan, Spencer, Holliday, and others, in 177H, 
came from Kentucky in search of good lands. They secured 
and planted a field, which was the first plantation in Middle Ten- 
nessee. It was near Bledsoe's Lick. A large hollow tree stood 
near by, in which Spencer lived. Holliday decided to return to 
Kentucky. Spencer protested, but without avail. In the mean- 
time the former had lost his knife, whereupon the latter broke 
and gave him half of his knife. 

10. During the Revolution, the western settlements were not 
ill r. condition to contribute very greatly to the American cau.se. 
They were few but not insignificant, and being called upon, they 
responded. John vSevier commanded the militia of Washington 
count\'. and Isaac vShelby that of vSullivan county, which 
amounted to about five hundred. They induced Colonel \\'il- 
liam Campbell, of Virginia, who had four hundred men, to join 
them. They elected him commander of the united forces. 
Colonel James Williams joined them, and their force amounted 
to fifteen hundred. They realized they were fighting a great 
general, whose courage was as des])erate as his generalship was 
skilful. He kad t© rely upoM Tories who wanted to surrender, 



TENNEvSvSEE, PART OF NORTH CAROLINA. 37 

finding themselves in a baptism of fire, bnt time after time he 
rallied his men. Patrick Ferguson, the British officer, selected 
the top of a cone-shaped hill, which he named King's Mountain, 
and said "the Almighty himself could not drive him from it." 
The assailants were desperate and determined. Ascending the 
mountain on various sides, their deadly rifles literally mowed 
down the Tories. Finally Ferguson was killed, and De Pey.ster, 
the second in command, immediately surrendered. This was a 
great victory for the mountaineers. In 1783, Davidson county 
was erected and named, and James Robertson was its first Repre- 
.sentative to the North Carolina Legislature. Rev. Jeremiah 
Lambert, the first Methodist preacher, came this year to the 
Holston Circuit. 

11. The Indians were anticipating an invasion now. vSevier 
returned home from King's Mountain famous, and when he was 
notified of their hostile intention he at once selected troops and 
hastened to meet the Indians. Finding the savages at Boyd's 
Creek, he routed them. Reenforcements joined him, which 
enabled him to cross the Little Tennessee and pursue the Indians 
till he had burned their dwellings, destroyed their crops, and 
driven away their animals. He marched south through their 
country in the region of the Coosa River, demolishing as he 
went. The next year he invaded their country at the source of 
the Little Tennessee. The Indians would not always conform 
to treaties, and they had to be dealt with in a summary way. 
Their deeds were atrocious and degrading, but they saw North 
Carolina gradually extending her line and securing their lands, 
which put them on the defensive. 

12. The Watauga people evidently hoped when they formed 
the articles of association that at no remote day they would l^e 
governed by royal governors, but adversity defeated it. When 
they petitioned North Carolina in 1776 for annexation, it was 
readily granted. They expected defense, but it never came. An 
Indian war was always an iin])ending contingency. They had 



38 THE HISTORY OF TENNKSSKE. 

had no adequate military organization, no method of compell- 
ing enlistment, no means of collecting taxes. This was bad 
enough. Subsequently, abuses became worse. 

13. In April, 1784, the General Assembly of North Carolina 
ceded to the United States all the territor}^ embraced in Ten- 
nessee. The cession required its acceptance within two years. 
To this the settlers complained, because North Carolina left 
them without a government for two 3'ears. Indignation per- 
vaded the entire settlement. The Watauga pride had been 
insulted and North Carolina was bitterly reviled. The most 
extravagant denunciations of her ingratitude and t\^ranny were 
heard. They regarded themselves without a government, but 
sought a solution of this difficulty in their own resources. 

14. Taking their militia companies, each company elected two 
representatives, who formed a committee, and the three com- 
mittees of Washington, Sullivan and Greene counties — Davidson 
does not seem to have been represented — met and decided to call 
a general convention to be elected by the people of the different 
counties. This convention met August 23, 1784, at Jonesboro. 
John Sevier was elected President, and Landon Carter, Secre- 
tary'. 

15. The convention voted twenty-eight 3'eas to fifteen nays to 
hold a Constitutional Convention November 16, 1784, to form 
a State, with five delegates from each county. In the fall, 
North Carolina repealed its act of cession to the United States. 
Nashville was established July 4, 1784, and North Carolina 
appointed Andrew Jackson, Judge of Superior Court of Law 
and Equity for Davidson county. A second convention met at 
Jonesboro, December 14, 1784. John Sevier was made President, 
and F. A. Ramsey, Secretary. 

16. A Con.stitution was formed, and the new State was 
named Frankland or P'ranklin, and North Carolina appointed 
John Sevier, Brigadier-General. General Washington gained 
the victory over Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, October 19, 



THE STATK OF FRANKLIN. 39 

1 78 1, and so the war was virtually ended. The treaty of peace 
between Great Britain and the United States was signed at Paris, 
November 30, 17S2. This war lasted seven years, but Great 
Britain declared the United States free, and it could have an 
independent government. 

Questions. — i. What did North Carolina do in 1777? How 
large was it? 2. What was land worth? What permission to 
secure it? 3. What effect did this produce? Who came? 
4. Hitherto, how had emigrants come? What of roads? 5. 
What means of protection did they have ? What was the result ? 
6. What of Washington county? Other counties? 7. What of 
the Tories? Whigs? Committees? 8. What of the Christian 
ministry? The Chickamauga Indians? 9. Describe the settle- 
ment from Kentucky. 10. What part did the Western settle- 
ments take in the Revolution? Describe the battle of King's 
Mountain. 11. Describe Sevier's attack on the Indians. 12. 
What was the evident anticipation of the Wataugans? 13. What 
cession was made in 17S4? Why did the settlers complain? 
14. What of the Jonesboro convention? Its officers? 15. Give 
the substance of this section. 16. Name the new State. What 
of the treaty of peace ? 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN. 

I. The Revolution was now ended, and the independ- 
ence of the Ignited States acknowledged by England. The 
transition from a state of provincial vassalage and colonial 
dependence to self-government was sudden, and in some of the 
States almost imperceptible. The change from a monarchy to a 
republic brought a little of the spirit of insubordination, till 
mature plans and experience could enthrone confidence to meet 
the convulsions and disorders of society which were produced 
by the dissolution from P^ngland. In the main, the people 
expected better results, hence contentment was delayed. 



40 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

2. The War of Indei)endeiice had entailed an immense debt upon 
the vStates. The treasury was depleted, and Congress urged the 
States to cede their unappropriated lands to Congress to enrich the 
Federal treasury- to enable it to defray the expenses incurred by 
this war. North Carolina ceded the western territory-. The 
State of Franklin thought if it were admitted as an independent 
vState these lands would accrue to its own benefit. True, the 
members from the four western counties voted at Hillsboro for 
the cession, but they thought Congress would not accept it. 
After the battle of King's Mountain the "Over Hill" countr\- 
becanie famous and attracted immigration. Hither were led b>' 
General Elijah Clarke the women and children of Tory-ridden 
Georgia. A hard fought battle was won over the Cherokees at 
Boyd's Creek, and their country depopulated around Hiwassee. 
In November, 1785, a Constitution was adopted by four counties 
and the East Tennessee country named Franklin. 

3. The Constitution of Franklin made lawyers, ministers of the 
gospel, atid doctors ineligible to office. This made it very un- 
])opular. When the Constitution of North Carolina was passed 
a Bill of Rights was adopted which made provisions for the 
creation of a State or vStates out of the Western Territory. Men- 
tion has been made of the formation of a judicial district for the 
Western counties, called Washington District, and a Judge and 
an Attorney-General appointed. Of the militia a brigade was 
formed, with John Sevier Brigadier-General, but he would not 
accept the position. 

4. In those days factions were easily formed. John vSevier 
was a gallant, faithful, industrious and honorable man, whom 
his people loved very much. From the first, he became identified 
with all the interests of this people for whom he labored so un- 
tiringly. Yet his career was an object of jealousy to a man named 
John Tipton, who did what he could in opposition to vSevier. At 
Watauga courts were held at resident houses, and it was Tipton's 
ambition to annoy Sevier, and capture or destroy the court 



THE STATE OF FRANKI.IN. 4 1 

records. The proceedings of one faction were deemed b}- the 
other illegal. The people did not know to whom to pay their 
taxes, hence they paid none. 

5. DivSsension and disruption created much animosity and dis- 
content. A Constitution was formed for the State, but the many 
objections thereto prompth^ defeated it. When Governor Martin, 
of North Carolina, heard the news of separation, he sent Major 
Samuel Henderson to find out the cause of disaffection. Very 
soon Governor Martin received an official declaration of inde- 
pendence from the new State. Martin issued a manifesto to the 
inhabitants of Franklin, and calmly and dispassionatel}" reviewed 
and refuted causes and charges. Sevier was elected Governor 
of Franklin by the Legislature. One of the first acts of the 
Legislature of Franklin was to provide for Martin Acadeni}-, 
which was founded by Samuel Doak in 1785, and was the first 
school west of the Alleghanies. It afterwards became Washing- 
ton College. This year Davidson Academy v>^as founded at 
Nashville, and Blount College at Knoxville. 

6. Sevier proposed the Constitution of North Carolina and it 
was adopted with a few changes. William Cocke was appointed 
to present this Constitution to Congress for the admission of 
the State into the Union, which he did, and to which Congress 
paid no attention. Soon after the adoption of the Constitution 
by Franklin, the North Carolina Legislature met at Newbern 
and passed an act of oblivion in favor of those who would return 
to their allegiance, and invited the revolted counties to send 
representatives to North Carolina. This act did much to allay 
irritation and make Governor Martin's manifesto popular. In 
August, 1786, a Senator, John Tipton, and two Representatives, 
James Stuart and Richard White, were elected from Washington 
county to the North Carolina General Assembly. 

7. After the election of John Tipton to the Senate of North 
Carolina, and the people began to see that Franklin could not 
survive this difficulty, Sevier sent Cocke to North Carolina to 



42 THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

persuade the Legislature to agree to a separatiou. Cocke's 
appeal was eloquent, but unsuccessful. North Carolina had 
decided that the Franklin people should return to their allegi- 
ance, and should become a separate State only through a formal 
act of cession. By another act of oblivion, unpaid taxes were 
remitted. 

8. Franklin refused to take advantage of the last act of ob- 
livion. Confusion was still great. Two sets of officers still 
executed the laws, and the people v/ere wearying under this 
needless desertion. Sevier saw a reaction. North Carolina 
appointed Evan Shelby Brigadier-General. vSevier and Shelby 
were to exerci.se the duties of their offices jointly, and in a har- 
monious way, till the next meeting of the Legislature of North 
Carolina, but ere long they again became involved in confusion. 

9. The Governor of North Carolina in May, 1787, replied to 
Evan Shelby and his followers, who had asked to have the 
Franklin people brought back to their allegiance by force of arms. 
Very pleasantly, he suggested that the way to secure what they 
desired was to teturn to their allegiance and wait till their wealth 
and numbers would jUvStify separation. "It is my opinion," said 
he, "that it may be obtained at an earlier da}^ than some imagine, 
if unanimity prevail among you." 

10. Sevier saw the futility of his plans, and not beiiig despondent, 
he urged Georgia to interfere in the behalf of Franklin. As com- 
pensation, he would help subjugate the Creeks and settle the 
Great Bend of the Tennessee, but Georgia gave no useful aid. 
Sevier resorted to various futile means. He solicited Shelby 
to accept the Governorship, but he refused. In September, 1787, 
the last session of the Franklin Legislature met, and soon there- 
after all the Western counties sent Representatives to the North 
Carolina Legislature. After acts of pardon and oblivion were 
passed, the State of Franklin ceased to exist, February i, 1788. 

11. It is interesting to know how officers were then paid. 
The State taxes and salaries w^ere payable in flax linen, tow 



THE STATK OF FRANKLIN. 43 

linen, linsey, beaver skins, tallow, beeswax, rN'e whisky, peach 
or apple brandy, conntry made sugar, and tobacco. Our 
children will be glad to know of the beautiful scenery of the 
cradle of this State. It will, perhaps, endear primitive settlers 
to us. 

12. The scenery of the Great Vallej^ of East Tennessee is 
not surpassed for beauty and grandeur. This is equall}^ true 
whether it be viewed from the hills or from the tops of the great 
mountains upon either side. The poet's verse and the artist's 
brush have long since immortalized the beautiful vales and the 
rivers of the Great Valley. The mountains lack the massiveness 
of form and the great altitudes of the Alps and the Rockies, but 
there is a beaut}' and harmony of outline in the vast stretch of 
landscape that at once captivates all beholders. The Valle}", 
when once seen from any one of the great domes upon the eastern 
wall, is a picture that can never be forgotten. Standing upon 
one of these great elevations, four thousand feet above the ocean, 
and looking down and out, the Great Valley spreads awa}' in 
all directions like some vast plain, or a stretch of some silent 
sea. 

13. Far away to the w^est, in the extreme background of the 
picture, a high blue \vall is seen kissing the sky; this is the 
western confine of the Valley-. Beyond this tall, blue line is 
Kentucky. Far away to the right and left the picture slowly 
fades behind the blue, transparent atmosphere cf the Ten- 
nessee Mountains. Xinet}' miles away, on the right, beyond the 
deepest shadow in the picture, lies Virginia. Ninety miles 
awa}^ on the left, beyond where the fan-shaped rays of sunlight 
are piercing the borders of a distant cloud, is Georgia. At our 
feet and back, the great gorges in the mountains open wide their 
enormous throats a thousand feet in depth; out of these the pre- 
cipitous sides of the great mountains raise their massive shoul- 
ders more than two thousand feet above us. Behind their great 
domes is North Carolina. 



44 I'HE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

14. This beautiful valle}- was once the home and hunting 
grounds of the Indians. From those far away hills, three thous- 
and feet below us, the smoke of their chase signals answered one 
to another. To them it was t3'pical of their Happy Hunting 
Grounds. Heroically they resisted the encroachments of the 
w^hite race upon it a long while ago. Bitterl}^ they turned 
to look upon it for the last time as they took up their 
march towards the setting sun, leaving their brave dead avsleep 
in the beautiful vales the}^ had died to defend. But all this is 
as it should be, for the Great Valley was destined to cradle a 
mightier race, whose industries and commerce should touch the 
boundaries of the farthest shores. The brighter colored spots we 
see scattered over the valley as far as the eye can reach, show 
the work of the white man who succeeded the Indians, for these 
are fields of waving grain. The darker colored patches, wdiich 
intervene, are remnants of once unbroken forests; their outlines 
are eloquent of what has been done. The great columns of 
smoke rising from the center of the valley are from the 
furnaces of modern progress and are prophetic of what it is 
to be. 

15. Several 3'ears ago the lamented Landon C. Haynes, one of 
Tennessee's most eloquent sons, in his famous after-dinner speech 
at Jackson, Miss., paid this beautiful tribute to the home of his 
birth: "I was born in East Tennessee on the banks of the 
Watauga, which, in the Indian vernacular, means 'beautiful 
river,' and beautiful river it is. I have stood upon its banks in 
childhood and looked down through its glassy waters and have 
seen a Heaven below, and then looked up and beheld a Heaven 
above, reflecting, like two mirrors each in the other, its moons 
and planets and trembling stars. Awa}^ from its banks of rock 
and cliff, hemlock and laurel, and pine and cedar, stretches a 
vale back to the distant mountains as beautiful and exquisite as 
any in Italy or Switzerland. There stand the great Unicoi, the 
great Black and the Great Smoky Mountains, among the loftiest 



THE STATE OF FRANKLIN. 45 

in the United States of America, on whose summits the clouds 
gather of their own accord even in the brightest da}'. '.' 

16. "There I have seen the great spirit of the storm, after 
noontide, go and take his evening nap in his pavillion of dark- 
ness and of clouds. I have there seen him arise at midnight as 
a giant refreshed from his slumbers and cover the Heavens with 
gloom and darkness; I have seen him awake the tempest, let loo.se 
the red lightnings that ran along the mountain tops a thousand 
miles, swifter than the eagle's flight in heaven. Then I have 
seen him stand up and dance like angels of light in the clouds 
to the music of that grand organ of Nature, whose keys seem 
touched by the fingers of Divinity in the halls of Eternity, that 
responded in notes of thunder, that resounded through the 
universe. Then I have seen the darkness drift away beyond the 
horizon and the morn get up from her saffron bed like a queen, 
put on the robes of light, come forth from her palace in the sun 
and stand tip toe on the misty mountain top, and night fled from 
before her glorious face to his bed chamber at the pole. She 
lighted the green vale and the beautiful river, where I was born 
and played in childhood, with a smile of sunshine. O! beautiful 
land of the mountains, with thy sun-painted cliffs, how can I 
ever forget thee?" 

I. What followed now? Were the colonies in a better condi- 
tion? Why? 2. What had the War of Independence done? 
What did Congress urge ? What did Franklin do ? 3. Whom did 
the Franklin Constitution make ineligible to office? Why? 
4. What of John Sevier? John Tipton? Courts? 5. What of 
dissension? Constitution? Martin's manifesto? 6. What is 
.said of Sevier? William Cocke? North Carolina Legislature? 
7. What did the people begin to see? North Carolina had 
determined what? 8. Franklin refused what? Result? 9. 
What did the North Carolina Governor do? Say? 10. Sevier 
saw what? What effort did he make to perpetuate Franklin? 
II. How were officers paid ? Taxes? 12. What is said of this 
scenery? 13. Give the boundaries. 14. Of whom was this 



46 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



valley once the home? 15. What did Landoii C. Hayiies say? 
16. What do yoii think of this speech? 



CHAPTER VII. 



MIDDLE TENNESSEE. 



I. As John Sevier was the father of Hast Tennessee, so was 
James Robertson the father of Middle Tennessee. In 1779, theie 
were no habitations in the valley of the Lower Cumberland but the 
hunter's camp and Spencer's log cabin. In the spring of 1779, 
a small party of brave pioneers left Watauga, crossed the Cum- 
berland Mountains, and pitched their tents and planted corn on 
the present site of Nashville. After corn was planted, the party 
all returned to their families except White, Swanson and Overall, 
who remained to cultivate it. 

2. Capt. Robertson went through 
Illinois to see Gen. George Rogers 
Clarke. The Watauga settlers, two 
or three hundred in number, went 
in the fall wdth Robertson to his 
settlement where Nashville is. The 
depth of the snow and the inclem- 
ency cf the weather retarded them 
longer than they anticipated, and 
they did not arrive until earh^ in 
1 780. A few settled north of, but the 
more crossed the Cumberland and 
settled south of the site of Nashville. 
3. Whilst the adventurers were traveling over land, many 
were on the Tennessee, Cumberland and Ohio Rivers trying to 
reach Nashville by water. Colonel John Donelson, the projector 




JAMES ROBERTSON. 



MIDDLE TENNESSEE. 47 

of the vo3'age, commanded them. They had many perils and 
hardships, but the}^ were hopeful for better results. 

4. Colonel Donelson's object in settling in Middle Tennessee 
at or near the Bluff, was the formation of an independent govern- 
ment. In this he succeeded May i, 17S0. Colonel Donelson 
went up the Cumberland and erected a fort at Clover Bottom, 
near Stone River, on the south of the river. Dr. Walker, 
whom Virginia and North Carolina commissioned to run their 
separating boundar}^ line, was vvith Colonel Henderson, who was 
the British agent for the sale of land. Colonel Henderson 
erected a station on Stone River and remained there and sold 
lands under the deeds made him and his partners by the Chero- 
kees at Watauga, March, 1775. Henderson sold one thousand 
acres for ten dollars. The purchase certificate had a clause con- 
ditioned upon the confirmation of the Henderson treaty by the 
proper authorities. 

5. Virginia and North Carolina annulled his title and refused 
to recognize the sales made by him, and the purchasers were 
never urged to pa}^ for their lands. This land belonged to the 
Transylvania Company, but Virginia and North Carolina decided 
its title bad because private individuals had no right to make 
treaties with the Indians. Each State, however, granted the 
Company two hundred thousand acres for its trouble and labor. 

6. Many were very anxious to complete their cabins, but they 
erected a fort for their common safet3\ called Nashborough in 
honor of Francis Nash, of North Carolina. This was to be the 
principal fort and headquarters for all. Other smaller forts were 
also built. 

7. The winter of 1779-80 was unusually severe. The Cum- 
berland was frozen sufficiently to permit Robertson's party to 
cross on the ice. The settlers suffered intenselj^ from the severity 
of the weather. Having hastih' and loosely constructed cabins, 
it was impossible for them to be comfortable. Their food, con- 
sisting in part of game, was poor and difhcult to secure. The In- 



48 THE HISTORY OP TENNESSEE. 

dians uow were giving the settlers an interim of rest. A family 
which had the small pox came wath Donelsou. Stew^art required 
them to stay some distance away from the rest, which led to their 
capture by the Indians. The latter took the disease and died 
by the thoi.isands. This gave the colonists time to prepare for 
the onslaughts which follow^ed. Meanwhile the settlers were 
improving their cabins and securing additions to their settle- 
ment. 

8. With jealousy, the Indians mustered their forces to repel 
the wdiites and drive them awa3\ Finding the wdiite force too 
great, the Indians decided to drive away all the game, and 
thereb}^ cause the settlers to perish. Almost succeeding in this, 
many of the whites heartily wished they had never joined the 
settlement. Many having secured good homes, put their trust 
in Providence and resolved to sta5\ North Carolina arranged at 
this time to remunerate the soldiers of the Continental line by 
giving them land, and this led to a rapid settlement of these 
lands. 

9. Ramsey said: "As on the Watauga at its first settlement, so 
now here the colonists of Robertson were without an}^ regularh' 
organized government. ' ' This countr}^ was included in Wash- 
ington county, which extended to the Mississippi. More than 
six hundred miles from the seat of government, they felt a neces- 
sity of a strong government and the^^ appointed trustees and 
signed a covenant obligating themselves to conform to the judg- 
ment and decisions of their officers in wdioni they had vested 
the power of government. 

10. The signers secured land thereby. Those who did not 
sign the covenant had no right to the land. Like the Watau- 
gans, the trustees were not paid. To them were also committed 
the functions of the sacerdotal ofhce in the celebration of the 
rites of matrimony. James Robertson married the first couple. 
Captain lyeiper and his wife. 

11. The Legislature of North Carolina in 1785 gave the settlers 



MIDDLE TENNESSEE. 49 

three hundred men for protection, and these men had to clear 
roads so the settlements could be reached more easih\ Hitherto, 
they were approached through the wilderness of Kentuck}-. 
With the completion of these roads many people became settlers 
and ere long everj^thing assumed a more pleasing aspect. 

12. Soon after the failure of the Franklin government in 1788, 
it became evident that North Carolina was exceedingly econom- 
ical in the adoption of measures and the providing of means for 
these w^estern counties, which revived the discontent and com- 
plaint of the settlers, especialh' those who suffered defeat in the 
Franklin revolt. A separation was discussed and deemed pru- 
dent. The last town established by North Carolina in Tennessee 
was Rogersville, in Hawkins county, in 1789. 

13. The Cumberland River settlers were almost entirely in- 
sulated from the communit}^ in East Tenneosee by the Alleghany 
Mountains. There were included in Mero District the counties 
of Davidson, Tennessee and Sumner. In Middle Tennessee 
there were a few other settlements, which were not very im- 
portant, but after the admission of the State they became large, 
active and progressive. The early history of East Tennessee is 
essentially the history of Middle Tennessee. We have the same 
details of Indian butchery, desultory warfare and savage incur- 
sions. 

14. On April 30, 1789, General George Washington, com- 
mander-in-chief of the American arm 3^ during the Revolution, 
was inaugurated President of the United States. He appointed, 
in 1790, William Blount, Territorial Governor, who was com- 
missioned August 7, 1790, and served till 1796. June i, 1796, 
Tennessee was admitted into the Union as the sixteenth State. 
Her great seal is shown on the title page. 

Questions. — i. What of the pioneers on the Lower Cumber- 
land? Who remained to cultivate corn? 2. How many v/ent 
in the fall to Robertson's settlement? What of the winter? 3. 
How did the adventurers go? Wlio projected the voyage? A 



5© THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

fort was*built where ? 4. What was his object ? What of Walker 
and Henderson ? 5. What did Virginia and North Carolina do? 
Why? To whom did this land belong? 6. What was the name 
of the fort erected ? After whom named ? 7. What of the winter 
of 1779-80? What were the Indians doing? Settlers? 8. After 
the Indians attacked the settlers what did the former decide ? 
Result? 9. How did they organize a government? 10. Why 
were the signers entitled to land ? Whom did Robertson marry ? 
II. What did the North Carolina I^egislature give? 12. Why 
was a separation deemed prudent? 13. What of settlements and 
Indian barbarities? 14. What occurred April 30, 1789? Whom 
did Washington appoint Territorial Governor? When? 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WEST TENNESSEE. 

1 . Originally the whole territory was known as the Western 
country, but by the Constitution it is divided into East, Middle 
and West Tennessee. For some time after its admission, the 
State was divided into East and West Tennessee, but after the 
treaty of 18 18, by w^hich the Chickasaws ceded their interest in 
Tennessee, the division, Middle, was added, and the former W' est 
Tennessee became Middle Tennessee. 

2. There is nothing very eventful in its history and growth. 
This portion of the State was not opened for settlement till long 
after the State became prosperous. As far back as there is any 
authentic record, this land was owned by the Chickasaws. They 
possessed a remarkable friendship for the English, but did not 
so highly appreciate. the Spanish, owing to a feud between them 
and De Soto. 

3. De Soto in 1540, spent the winter with them very pleasantly 
at Chisca, but when he demanded two hundred of their number 
to carry his baggage, they burned their village and flew to arms. 
Marquette, in 1673, explored this region along the Mississippi, 
and found the dusky men of the forest armed with weapons of 



WEST TENNESSEE. 5 1 

civilized warfare, which doubtless had beeit obtained from the 
Atlantic coast traders. 

4. Memphis, the largest city in this division, is the county 
seat of Shelby, and is situated on the Mississippi. It is in the 
centre of a cotton region, and is the largest inland cotton market 
in the world. In 1825, the county seat was transferred to 
Raleigh, but afterwards it was removed to Memphis. 

5. While the colonies were under English rule, the Indians 
in nearly all the wars of the United States sided with the English 
and assisted them, and at the treaty of Hopewell the Indians 
were liberally remunerated therefor. The government donated 
them land, corn and other supplies. 

6. The Spanish Governor of Natchez, Gayoso, wanted posses- 
sion of the Chickasaw Bluff, and in 1782 appeared there with 
the intention of building a fort. He prepared his material on 
the west side of the bluff, but when it was ready he transferred 
it to the east side and erected it. The Chickasaws complained 
to Governor Blount, November 9, 1795, who, by direction of the 
President, notified Gayoso that the United States considered this 
an encroachment not only upon the territorial rights of the 
United States but also upon the rights of the Chickasaws, and 
that he was expected by the government to demolish the fort and 
withdraw his troops from it. 

7. Various treaties were made with the Chickasaws with a 
view to obtaining their territory in the State for settlement. 
Among these treaties were those of 1806-7, by which they relin- 
quished 355,000 acres for settlement for $22,000 and a large 
amount of supplies. Another treaty in 1816 gave them $4,500 
cash and $12,000 in ten annual instalments. 

8. On October 19, 18 18, the final treaty, by which they relin- 
quished all of West Tennessee, was signed b}^ Isaac Shelby and 
Andrew Jackson on the part of the United States, and the chiefs 
on the part of the Chickasaws. This treaty was to settle all 
territorial controversies and remove all grounds for complaint 



52 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



and dissatisfaction between the United States and the Chickasaws. 
9. Inhabitants from East and Middle Tennessee, North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina and Virginia began to settle down in the 
midst of the virgin forest, and their energy soon converted it 
into beautiful fields, abounding in corn and vegetables. Nearl}^ 
all settlements were made along the rivers, as they were about 
the only means of egress. As our narrative progresses, other 
earl}^ incidents will be unfolded and given. 

Questions. — i . What was the original territorial name ? What 
occurred in 18 18 ? 2. What of Indian friendship for the English ? 
Spanish? 3. How^ did De Soto incur their malice? 4. What of 
Memphis? Raleigh? 5. Wh}^ did the government remunerate 
the Indians? 6. What of the Spanish governor? What did 
Governor Blount do? 7. Give the substance of this section. 8. 
What treaty was made in 1818? What was this treaty to settle? 
9. Give the substance of this section. 



CHAPTER IX. 



EARLY HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 




GOV. JOHN SEVIER. 



I . John Sevier, the first Governor 
of Franklin, was elected without 
opposition the first Governor of 
Tennessee. He was the idol of his 
party, and being bold, vigilant and 
untiring, and having an indomi- 
table will and herculean energ}', 
he easily ranked among the greatest 
men of his day. He was inaugu- 
rated March 30, 1796. John Sevier 
was born in Virginia, September 
23, 1745. He was earl}- distin- 
guished for bravery and skill in 
fighting the Indians, and was made 



captain. In 1772, he removed to the Watauga settlement, and in 



EARLY HISTORY OF TKNNEvSSKE. 53 

1774 was in the battle of Point Pleasant. He was a delegate to 
the State Convention that declared for separation from Great 
Britain. He fought successfully in the Indian wars. He was 
elected Governor in 1796, and re-elected for three successive 
terms. In 181 1, he was elected to Congress, and was re-elected 
twice, but died before he was sworn in for the last term. He died 
September 24, 18 15, and was buried near Fort Decatur, Ala- 
bama, but his remains were removed to Knoxville in June, 
1889, and buried by order of the Legislature in Court House 
Square. 

2. The que.stion of the admission of Tennessee into the Union 
was submitted to the people, a large majority of whom favored it, 
and on Januar}^ 1 1 , 1796, a convention m^et at Knoxville to adopt a 
Constitution. The new State was named Tennessee after its 
largest river. Formerly this river was called Cherokee, but now 
Tennessee. When the bill for the admission of this State was 
submitted to Congress, it met opposition. In the House after 
some debate it passed, but the Senate bitterly opposed it. 

3. Its enemies said the inhabitants could not enumerate the 
census, which must be done b}- Congress. It was asserted that 
it was a scheme to elect Jefferson^ President, by adding new 
States to the Union. The older States thought it would decrease 
their power. When the final vote was taken in the Senate, it 
passed by a majority of one, the deciding vote being cast by the 
acting President, who was severely criticised by the Federalists. 

4. William Blount and William Cocke were elected United 
States Senators, March 31, 1796. The State was divided into 
three Judicial Districts: Washington, Hamilton and Mero. The 
Legislature adjourned on April 14, 1796, but was convened in 
extra session, July 30, to rectify errors in the election of Sena- 
tors. Blount and Cocke were again elected to the United States 
Senate. November 9, Landon Carter was commissioned Briga- 
dier-General of Hamilton District, and James Winchester of 
Mero District. 



KAKLY HISTORY OF TKNNKSSEE. 55 

5. November 12, 1796, Andrew Jackson was commissioned the 
first Representative in Congress from Tennessee. He was born 
in North Carolina, in 1767, of Scotch-Irish descent. His early 
training was in the backwoods handling a rifle or breaking and 
riding a wild or vicious horse. He was brave, energetic and 
magnetic. In 1784, he began the study of law in Salisbury, 
North Carolina. Four years later he came to Nashville, where 
he opened a law office. In 1797, he was elected United States 
Senator, but soon resigned because he felt the body too dignified 
for him, and because he was too poor to dress and sustain him- 
self in it. Subsequently he will be referred to. The Tennessee 
electoral vote was cast, three for Thomas Jefferson for President, 
and three for Aaron Burr for Vice-President. In 1797, a United 
States Court was established for Tennessee, and John McNairy 
appointed Judge. On July 8, this year, William Blount was 
expelled from the United States Senate. Nashville had a news- 
paper, the ' 'Tennessee Gazette," afterwards called the "Clarion. 

6. December 3, 1798, the second session of the Legislature 
met at Knoxville, and William Blount was elected Speaker, vice 
James White, resigned. It passed several important laws. In 
March, a United States Marshall attempted to arrest William 
Blount, who had been expelled from the United States Senate. 
Blount resisted and the articles of impeachment were withdrawn 
by the Senate, because he ceased to be a member of that body. 

7. Washington who had now served honorably as President 
of the United States for eight years, and had refused a re-election, 
retired to his home at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, and John Adams, a 
Federalist, was elected his successor. The Republicans nominated 
Thomas Jefferson, their ablest leader. The contest was a bitter 
one, but Jefferson was defeated. In the second 3^ear of Adams' 
administration the Navy Department was created. Adams, fear- 
ing war with France on account of her seizure of American 
vessels carrying British goods, called a session of Congress, May 
15' 1797' to take the necessary precaution. 



56 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

8. Jefferson was inaugurated President of the United States, 
March 4, 1801. His address was a model of nianh^ fairness, 
generosity, and irreproachable patriotism. In 1799, the first 
camp meeting in the State was held in Sumner county. In the 
next 3'ear great revivals were held near Clarksville, led by the 
Rev. James McGrady, from which the Cumberland Presbj^terian 
Church had its origin. Ex-Governor Blount died at Knoxville, 
March 21,1 800. This year George Rutledge was commissioned 
Brigadier-General of the Washington District. 

Questions. — i. Who was the first Governor of Tennessee? 
How many terms did he serve? Give a sketch of his life. 
2. When and where did the convention meet? Did Congress 
oppose the admission? Why? 3. Wh}" did the Federalists 
criticise? 4. In 1796, who were elected United States Senators? 
Into what was the State divided? Why was the Legislature 
convened in extra session? 5. Who was the first Represen- 
tative in Congress? What was the Tennessee electoral vote? 
6. What of the second session of the Legislature? 7. What of 
the Presidential campaign? 8. What of Jefferson? Camp 
meetings? Who died? When? 



CHAPTER X. 

development of the state. 

I. By the Constitution of Tennessee no one could be Governor 
more than three successive terms, but after some one else had 
served one term, the man who had served three terms was again 
eliarible. Archibald Roane was elected Sevier's successor, and 
was inaugurated September 23, 1801. Little is known of Gov- 
ernor Roane's personal history. He was unostentatious, pleasant 
and scholarly, and had been judge and teacher, having given 
instruction to Hugh L. White who was in 1836 the Whig can- 
didate for the Presidencv. 



DEVKLOPMKNT OF THK vSTATE. 57 

2. The term of the Governor was two years, and he had 
to be re-elected if he served longer. At the end of his first 
term, Roane wanted to be re-elected; but Sevier, being now 
eligible, and his friends being desirous that he vShould become a 
candidate, he consented. His popularity was almost unbounded 
and he easily defeated Governor Roane. 

3. During their candidacy, the friends of each were enthusiastic 
for the victory of their man. Roane's friends accused Sevier of 
speculating in land ^varrants and of forgery. When the election 
was over, the matter was investigated. A report adopted by the 
Legislature neither exonerated nor condemned him, but his 
friends did not believe the reports. In the time of Washington 
there were two political parties, the Federalists and the Anti- 
Federalists. The Federal party was in power from the beginning 
of Washington's administration to the beginning of Jefferson's 
term. In 1801, the Anti-Federal or Democratic-Republican party 
obtained control of the government. 

4. This country had been in a critical condition for a long 
while. Several of the American newspapers were edited by 
foreigners, or by men who sympathized with France and wanted 
to force us into a war with England. To stop this, Congress, in 
1798, unwisely enacted the. Alien and Sedition laws. The Alien 
law empowered the President to banish any alien or foreigner 
from the country whose influence he thought dangerous to the 
welfare of the country. The Sedition law undertook to punish 
persons who should speak, write or publish anything false or 
malicious against the President or the government of the Ignited 
States. These laws became very odious to our people during 
Roane's administration. 

5. The fourth session of the Legislature met at Knoxville, 
September 21, 1801, and adjourned November 14. A few of the 
laws enacted at this session were: An act to prevent frauds and 
perjury; to empower County Courts to emancipate slaves: to 
authorize the Governor to appoint Commissioners to ascertain 



5'^ THE HISTORY OF TENVESSIE. 

the l30Uiidary line between Tennessee and Virginia; to prevent 
dueling; to prevent the disturbance of public worship. On 
November 6, the towns of Gallatin, Rutledge, Lebanon and 
Tazewell v/ere established. In 1802, John vSevier, Moses Fisk 
and John Rutledge were appointed Commissioners for Tennessee, 
with Creed Taylor, Joseph Martin and Peter Johnson for Vir- 
ginia, to run the line betvreen these States. An act was passed 
to purchase a patent of a cotton gin from Kli Whitney and 
Phineas Miller. Jackson challenged Sevier to duel. In 1804, 
a la.\Y was enacted regulating the laying out of public roads. 

6. At this time the amount of crime was appalling, and it was 
plain that something must be done to diminish it. The severity 
of the penal law\s tended rather to increase than to decrease 
the number of crimes committed. Punishment was limited to 
the whipping post, stocks, pillory, county jail, the branding- 
iron, and the gallows. The penalties w^ere either lighter than 
could prove effective, or else in severity were out of all pro- 
portion to the offense committed. In 1799, the Legislature 
passed this act: "Be it enacted, that from and after the passage 
of this act, any person wdio shall be guilty of feloniously steal- 
ing, taking or carrying away any horse, mare or gelding, shall 
for such offense suffer death, without benefit of clergy." In 
1807, the Legislature modified the penal laws, making the pun- 
ishment lighter. 

7. A Masonic lodge was chartered in Nashville in 1796, known 
as St. Tammany No. i. North Carolina issued this charter 
December 17, 1796, but that State continued its authority over 
the lodge till 1812. December 11, 181 1, a convention met in 
Knoxville, representing the lodges of the State. Resolutions 
were passed favoring a separation from the Grand Lodge of 
North Carolina. In 18 13, in a Knoxville convention, a deed of 
relinquishment from North Carolina was presented. This State 
has many large lodges that do much charity work for the dis- 
tressed families of their deceased members. Manv other excel- 



DKVKLOPMKNT OF THE STATE. 



59 



lent lodges have from time to time been organized, and are doing 
fine \york in many \va3\s. 

8. In 1806, Congress passed "An act to authorize the State of 
Tennessee to issue grants and perfect titles to certain lands 
therein described, and to settle the claims to the vacant and 
unappropriated lands within the State." This act provided for 
100,000 acres of land for two colleges, one in East Tennessee, 
the other in West Tennessee. This land was to be in one tract, 
out of the lands gotten from the Cherokee Indians. Also 100,000 
acres for academies, one for every county, to be established 
by the Legislature; 640 acres were given to every six miles 
square. The land was to be sold for two dollars an acre and the 
proceeds applied to the school fund. 

9. Good schools soon flourished. In 18 10, lotteries being 
popular, the Legislature authorized one for East Tennessee Col- 
lege, and appointed trustees for that 
purpose. In 1809, Willie Blount was 
elected Governor without opposition, 
and served until 18 15. He had no 
very great ability, but was honest and 
a strong supporter of General Jackson, 
who was fighting the Creek Indians. 
Jackson was financially embarrassed 
and Blount raised three hundred and 
seventy thousand dollars, with which 
he was supplied with the necessaries 
of war. Blount was elected Governor 
for three successive terms. gov. wileie blount. 

10. The general muster was the grand event of the year, and 
brought together more of all classes of people than any other 
meeting. The officers were dressed in the gayest trappings; 
plumed and belted warriors, who vied in all that related to their 
militar\' equipment and tactics, were these primitive soldiers, and 
they won for Tennessee the appellation, "Volunteer State." 




6o THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

Their hardy looks, their athletic forms, their marching with the 
light and noiseless step peculiar to their pursuit of woodland 
game, and their picturesque costume, made them the observed 
of all observers, and awoke in them an honest pride in the 
hearty plaudits the}- won from admiring spectators. 

11. They were not only cool and determined, brave as men 
dare l^e, l)ut were among the most splendid marksmen the 
country has produced, and their death-dealing aim made them a 
terror to the enemy on every battle-field where the yell peculiar 
to the Tennessee volunteer was heard. From youth, they were 
accustomed to the use of the rifle, whicli made them experts. 
At stated times they had shooting matches, and with their iiint 
locks they acquitted themselves admirably and won the plaudits 
of friends; but those times have been succeeded by more skilled 
warfare and more expeditious methods. 

12. In 1806, iVaron Burr, who had been Vice-President, and had 
recently killed Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, 
visited Tennessee, and was received everywhere with indigna- 
tion. In many towns he was burned in effigy. Duels were 
common in those days. This killing was the result of a duel 
fought July 12, 1804, after which Burr was never popular. In 
1806, Mero District was divided into three Judicial Circuits, viz: 
Robertson, Winchester and Mero. In 1807, the Nashville Bank 
was incorporated with two hundred thousand dollars capital. 
The second session of the Seventh General Assembl}- met at 
Kingston, xVpril 3, 1808, and adjourned April 22. 

13. In 1809, an act was passed establishing a vSupreme Court 
of Errors and Appeals and dividing the State into five Judicial 
Circuits. Hitherto, much attention had been given to iron 
works, and in 18 10 Tennessee had six blow ovens, seven forges, 
six furnaces and seven nail works, valued at one hundred and 
sixty-five thousand and eight hundred dollars. At Nashville, 
Governor William Carroll opened the first nail store in Tennessee. 
In 1 8 10, Thomas Coulter and Bvrd Smith were commissioned 



DEVHIvOPMKNT OF THK STATE. 6l 

Brigadier-Generals of the vSeventh and Kighth Brigades, respec- 
tively. 

14. The Americans had long retained a hearty sympathy for 
France, but now the relations between the two countries had 
become somewhat strained. The late treaty with England 
caused a resentful feeling from the French and their friends in 
America. This country had refused to become an ally of France 
in its wars with England, as France had been an ally of ours 
in the Revolution, for which France refused to accept our 
minister, and the tv\-o nations were on the verge of declaring 
war, and actual hostilities occurred. France was at war with 
England, and its ships were seizing American vessels on pre- 
text of having on board British products or of having sailed 
from British ports. Congress ordered our vessels to arm and 
resist these outrages. 

15. The friends of France in Tennessee boldly opposed war 
with an old ally, and expressed a hostile feeling for England. 
The wide ocean between, saved the two countries. War began 
in earnest on the high seas. The United States ship Constitu- 
tion of thirty-eight guns, fell in with a French ship of forty guns, 
and after a hot fight of an hour captured it. vSoon after the same 
ship met the French vessel. La Vengeance, of fifty-four guns, 
and after an action of five hours, drove her off with a heavy loss. 
Three hundred private American vessels had been armed for 
defense, but a change having occurred in the French govern- 
ment by Napoleon becoming First Consul, a treaty of peace was 
made and further hostilities ceased. 

16. African slavery introduced for gain was now deeplv rooted 
in the civil and social soil of Tennes.see. Colored slaves formed 
a part of almost every important household that came to the 
vState. But many good people were raising their eloquent voices 
protesting against the institution of slavery and demanding its 
abolition. In 1795, there were ten thou.sand six hundred and 
thirteen slaves in Tennessee; in r.Soo, there were thirteen thous- 



62 THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

and five hundred and eight-four, and in 1810, there were forty- 
five thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. This rapid growth 
was anxiously watched by the North and had become a source 
of comment. 

17. In 181 1, the State bank was established at Knoxville, with 
branches at Clarksville, Columbia, Jonesboro and Nashville. 
The Legislature met in Knoxville this year for the last time, 
except in 1817. In 181 1, an earthquake formed Reelfoot Lake, 
which is a large deep pool in Lake county, Tennessee. Ten- 
nessee gave James Madison ten votes for the presidenc}^ in 1808. 

18. The United States learned, in 1802, that Spain, in 1800, 
had secretly ceded Louisiana to France. Jefferson instructed 
Livingston, our Minister, to negotiate for its purchase, and 
through their untiring efforts the territory was bought for twelve 
million dollars. The close of Jefferson's administration was 
characterized by a strong feeling. He recommended and secured 
the passage of an act abolishing the slave trade on and after 
January i, 1809. The firm denial by Jefferson of the British 
right to search our vessels led gradually to the war of 181 2. 

Questions. — i. How many successive terms for a Governor? 
Who was elected in 1801? 2. Who succeeded him ? What of 
Sevier's popularity? 3. What action did their friends take? 
4. How mau}^ parties were there in the time of Washington? 
What were the Alien and Sedition Laws? 5. When and where 
did the fourth session of the General Assembly meet? Name a 
few of its laws. 6. W^hat is said of the criminal condition of the 
vState? How were crimes punished? 7. What is said of the 
Masonic Lodge? 8. How did Congress encourage schools? 
9. What was done in 1 8 10 ? Who was elected Governor in 1 809 ? 
How did he aid Jackson ? 10. Give the substance of this section ? 
II. Give the substance of this section. 12. Who was Burr? 
Hamilton? How was Burr received? 13. What is said about 
iron ? Governor Carroll ? 14. How did the Americans feel towards 
France? What countries w^ere at war? 15. How^ did Tennessee 
feel towards England ? Describe the naval contest. 16. What 
of African slavery? Was it popular? 17. What of the State 



THE CRKEK WAR. (^ 

bank? Reelfoot Lake? i8. What about the Louisiana pur- 
chase ? What did Jefferson deny ? 



CHAPTER XL 

THR CREEK WAR. 

1. Tecumseh viewed with alarm the gradual disappearing of 
Shaw-nees, of whom he was chief; he also realized that the other 
tribes were annually growing smaller before the superiority of 
the white race, hence he made an effort to get the Choctaws and 
Chickasaws to combine. They refused to combine with him. 
He visited the tribes himself and pitifully told of the Americans 
who were despoiling them of their lands, and he made a vigorous 
effort to resist these encroachments. The Creeks were divided, 
on Tecumseh 's plan, into a peace party and a war party. The 
war party began violence on the peace party. 

2. The war party w'as led by Red Eagle, or William Weather- 
ford, who was talented and energetic. His idea was for the 
Creeks, in conjunction with the British, to drive away or exter- 
minate the Americaiis. Seeing a division among the Creeks, he 
desired to stop hostilities, but he had gone too far. The ill feel- 
ing between the Indian factions grew more intense, and forts 
were built in various places in the vSouthwest. Finally at Fort 
Minis, near Mobile, on August 30, 18 13, a party of over five 
hundred men, women and children were surprised and slai!i. 
Only a few escaped. The commander. Red" Eagle, made an 
earnest effort to keep from having to kill tlie captives, but 
was unsuccessful. This killino- fired the country witli indio-na- 
tion. General Jackson was urged to lead troops and suppress 
this movement. Unwisely, a short time before, Jackson had 
acted as second to Carroll in a duel between Jesse Benton and 
William Carroll. Thomas H. Benton, Jesse Benton's brother. 



64 THE HISTORY OF TKNNKSSEK. 

denounced Jackson for this action, and Jackson threatened 
to horsewhip Benton the first opportunity. They met in 
Nashville, a fight ensued, in which Jackson was severely 
wounded, and was in bed when the news of the massacre at 
Fort Minis came, but ere long he was at the head of the Ten- 
nessee troops. 

3. Jackson collected his men at Fayetteville, and sent John 
Coffee to Huntsville with a brigade of cavalry. Jackson heard 

that Red Eagle was coming towards Ten- 
nessee and Georgia, and he pushed at 
once into what is. now Alabama. Low 
v%'ater prevented supplies being shipped 
from East Tennessee down the Tennessee 
River. He built Fort Deposit, but left 
it. Soon he invaded the Creek country, 
and trusted fortune for supplies. He left 
a garrison at Fort Deposit, and departed 
with only two da3\s' supplies for Ten Is- 
GEN. ANDREW' JACKSON, lauds, in the Coosa River, where many 
Indians of the peace party were surrounded by the war party. The 
Tennessee troops took an important part in the battle of Tallus- 
hatchee, which was fought November 3, 18 13. This place was 
about ten miles from Ten Islands. A large band of hostile 
Indians occupied it. Jackson sent Coffee with nine hundred 
men to destroy them. Coffee crossed the Coosa River just above 
Ten Islands, and surrounded the town about daylight. Coffee 
sent Colonel Alcorn with the cavalry to the right, whilst he and 
Colonel Cannon marched to the left. Two companies were sent 
into the town at sunrise to drive out the Indians. When Coffee's 
troops were attacked they began to retreat. The Indians, believ- 
ing this to be the entire force, came rushing out. The reserve 
troops fired and charged. The historian says all the Indians 
perished in the battle. 

4. Immediately after this battle, Jackson built Fort Strother 




THE CREEK WAR. 65 

at Ten Islands. It was the most important strategic point till 
the war closed. The fort being finished, Jackson received re- 
enforcements from General Cocke, of East Tennessee, but senL 
these men to White with orders to move forward to Fort Strother 
and hold it v>'hile he relieved friendly Indians cooped up at Fort 
Talladega by a body of the war party. There were one thousand 
besiegers at Fort Talladega. Jackson forded the Coosa and 
marched hastily till he arrived very near, when a courier in- 
formed him that White had orders from Cocke to fall back and 
join him, and he obeyed. It was now too late for Jackson to 
change his plans. He adopted the same mode which was suc- 
cessful at Tallushatchee, and it was here successful. The 
Indians lost about thirty killed and many wounded. Jackson 
had fifteen killed and eighty-five wounded. After one day he 
returned to Fort Strother, v/hich had not been disturbed. 

5. The Indians of the Hillabee Towns sent to General Jack- 
son begging for peace, which was granted, but General Cocke's 
army, not knowing of this, fell upon them and killed quite a 
number. Presuming that Cocke was acting under Jackson's 
orders, the Indians fought with renewed vigor and unyielding 
determination. General Cocke was court-martialed, but was 
acquitted. Hungr}^ and homesick, Jackson's men were about to 
disband. He had to threaten to shoot them to keep them in 
line. All this time he was trying to get provisions from Ten- 
nessee. 

6. Jackson's men became mutinous, and he found himself 
again in the command of short term men, but by sagacity he 
quieted them for a time. Jackson enlisted troops to meet the 
British in New Orleans in 1812. When he arrived at Natchez, 
Miss. , he was ordered to muster out his men there. This he re- 
fused to do, but raising supplies, marched them toCo]umbia,Tenn. , 
and disbanded them near their homes. Jackson fought bravely 
with these short term men. From Fort Strother. he marched to 
Talladeora, where he was re-enforced bv friendlv Indians. Here 



66 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

he learned that many Creeks had met at Emucfau, on the Talla- 
poosa, with hostile intentions. Jackson hurried to attack them, 
and on January 22, the Creeks were repulsed, falling back to 
their camp. Coffee went to attack them, but finding them too 
strongly fortified, he withdrew and joined Jackson. The Indians 
attacked our arni}^ and the battle was keenly contested, but with 
no decisive results. Jackson declined to follow them, deciding 
to return to Fort Strother. On his way he was attacked by the 
Indians near Knotachopco, where Coffee was wounded. Here 
the Indians were repulsed, and Jackson continued his retreat to 
Fort Strother. 

7. The last and the most fiercely contested battle was at the 
Horseshoe, orTohopeka. In February, 1814, Jackson had about 
five thousand men, the Creeks about one thousand. Jackson 
manned his forts and left garrisons at tliem, and marched out 
with three thousand men to attack the Creeks at the Horseshoe, 
or Tohopeka, in the bend of the Tallapoosa. Fearing and 
anticipating an attack, the Creeks were v/ell fortified, but Jack- 
son went before their massive breastworks, sending Coffee with 
seven hundred cavalry and six hundred friendly Indians down 
the river. Coffee had their canoes stolen, and then set fire to 
their camps. Realizing the situation, the Creeks fought bravely. 
Remembering the Hillabee campaign, they decided to fight it 
out with no concessions. Fully seven hundred were slain. 
After this battle. Red Eagle surrendered, which closed the war. 
Red Eagle came to Tennessee and lived a year at the Hermitage 
with Old Hickory. Red Eagle afterwards returned to Alabama, 
his home. He had a numerous posterity, who intermarried 
with the whites, and whose descendants are proud cf their 
ancestors. General James Robertson died at Chickasaw Agency, 
Memphis, September i, 1814. President Madison appointed 
George W. Campbell, February 9, 18 14, Secretary of the United 
States Treasur}^ 

Questions. — i. Who was Tecumseh? What did he seelc? 



THE WAR OF 1812-15. 67 

With what success ? 2. By whom was the war party led ? What 
was his idea ? Where was the first massacre ? When ? Jackson 
did what? Whom did he fight? Why? 3. Where was Ten 
Islands? WHiat of the Tennessee troops at Tallushatchee? 
When was this battle fought ? By whom ? 4. What did Jackson 
now do? Why did Jackson go to Talladega? 5. What did the 
Indians do? What mistake did Cocke make? Why? What 
were Jackson's men? 6. Give substance of this section. 7. 
What of the battle at the Horseshoe ? How many men on each 
side? Which side was successful ? What became of Red Eagle? 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE WAR OF 18 1 2-1 5. 

1. Since the war for Independence, in which England lost the 
American colonies, chagrin and resentment seemed to possess 
the spirit of many of the people. England's policy towards 
this country was marked by injustice and insult, to which were 
gradually added wanton outrages upon our national rights. 
From the frontier posts in Canada, its agents yet continued, by 
secret intrigues and bribes, to incite the savages to war and rapine 
upon the Western settlers. 

2. The United States, with the exception of England, was 
now the greatest power in the world. The contest upon the seas 
between England and France gave to our ships a safer carriage 
to and from all ports in the world. By orders in council and 
decrees of both England and France, the ports of these kingdoms 
and all their provinces were in a state of blockade. American 
vessels sailing to or from a port of one of these kingdoms were 
liable to be captured and made prizes by the other. One 
thousand American vessels, trading at French ports, under these 
orders and decrees, had been seized by armed ships of England, 
and confiscated with their cargoes. Many American seamen 
had been captured and impressed into the British navy. These 



THE WAR OF 1812-15. 69 

outrages became intolerable, and war was declared against Eng- 
land in June, 181 2. 

3. The United States prudently refused to be an ally of France 
against England during their Revolution and the reign of Napo- 
leon, in return for the aid of France in our war for independence. 
Xow events forced another alliance of the two against their old 
and common enemy.- In Tennessee the war was popular, for its 
people had suffered the greatest of insults from the Indian allies 
of England, and no people had a better reason for intense resent- 
ment against the English. The President of the United States 
called for one hundred thousand militia, while the forces of the 
regular army were increased. 

4. After many cruelly and keenly contested battles in various 
localities, in which victories alternated in favor of each nation, 
England began to deem the United States invincible, as it did 
seem to be. So gallant and crushing was the charge of Johnson's 
arni}^ in the Northwest, that it destroyed the British allied army 
and the volunteers were discharged and returned home. 

5. The great battle of Waterloo, on June 18, 18 15, won by 
Lord Wellington, effected the downfall of Napoleon in Europe 
and ended the strife between England and her old enemy. The 
military and naval forces of England could now be sent against 
the United States. Thirteen thousand veteran troops and a large 
armament of ships of war, sailed for the Gulf of Mexico in Sep- 
tember, 1 8 14. to engage in an attempt to capture New Orleans 
and occupy the vSouth Mississippi country. Many of the detached 
militia troops of Kentucky joined recruits from Georgia and 
Tennessee to re-enforce General Jackson's army to defend New 
Orleans. In a month they were hastening to join Jackson, 
who had just moved his headquarters from Mobile to New 
Orleans. 

6. Jackson's troops were now rapidl}' concentrating there. He 
1>egan the mo.st active preparations for defense about December i 
and continued them through that month. The enemy's fleet. 



yo thp: history of Tennessee. 

numbering forty sail, appeared in the Gulf on December 12, 
and anchored at Ship Island, off the bay of St. Louis. Their 
armed ships were engaged b}' five American gun-vessels for two 
hours, under lyieutenant Jones. Several British vessels were 
sunk and three hundred of the crews killed and wounded, but 
the British captured the little American fleet, on which the loss 
of life was smaller. 

7. The enemy securing this advantage, came in lighter vessels 
nearer to the city through the passes of Lake Borgne and Bayou 
Bienvenue. General Jackson here attacked them in force on 
December 23, and a sharp and bloody engagement ensued. 
Dense fog and darkness falling upon the armies ended the contest 
without decisive results. The British lost nearly seven hundred 
men, the Americans less than three hundred. Jackson now 
determined to fortify his position, act on the defensive, and force 
the enemy to attack. On December 28, Sir Edward Packenham, 
the British commander, made a furious demonstration upon the 
American works, but at last drew off with some loss. He again 
repeated his attack on January i. Jackson completed his de- 
fenses the next w^eek. 

8. Tennessee's brave troops were present at the dawn of 
day, January 8, 18 15. The glittering lines of the enemy were 
seen in full force and array, advancing to the assault and to the 
final issue of the campaign. With crowded center and wide 
extended right and left wings, the veteran soldiers of England, 
with the intrepid leaders, who had so successfull}^ fought Napo- 
leon, bravely and with steady tread advanced upon the covert 
and silent riflemen of Tennessee, Kentucky, and other portions 
of the South. When the}^ arrived within easy range, a storm of 
fire from the American artiller}- and a sheet of flame from the 
rifles of the backwoodsmen swept down the columns of the 
enemy and drove them back in disorder. Again their officers 
rallied their men and led them up to the slaughter, and again 
they were repulsed. The third time this was repeated, and with 



THK WAI< OF 1812-15. 71 

such disastrous results that even the veteran soldiers of England 
could not again Ije led to the charge. Generals Packenham, 
Keene and Gibbs had fallen, with two thousand and two hundred 
of the bravest soldiers of the British army. The Americans lost 
only thirteen men. The contrast! Jackson had about one 
thousand men on the opposite side of the Mississippi who were 
driven back, but with no great loss. But the great battle was 
decided in our favor. 

9. Jackson had in the final engagement about eight thousand 
men, the British thirteen thousand, of whom two thousand and two 
hundred vvere killed, and the rest so shattered that they and the 
commanding officers witlidrew and made good their retreat, and 
soon after embarked upon their fleet. A treaty of peace had 
been signed between the English and American governments 
before this great battle was fought, but owing to the slow means 
of communication of news in those days, it had not yet reached 
the belligerents. What an awful carnage would have been 
averted, could this have been flashed over electric wires as mes- 
sages are novv^ transmitted. Peace being restored, the Tennessee 
troops returned home to enjoy a long interval of over thirty years 
before another war. 

Questions. — i. What has seemed the attitude of the people 
since the Revolution? 2. Name the greatest maritime powers 
in the world. What of orders in council and decrees? 3. What 
was the United States called on to do? Did it do it? Why? For 
how many militia did the President call ? 4. Give the sulDStance 
of this section. 5. When and wdiat was the result of the battle 
of Waterloo? Name the Generals. Describe the attempt to 
capture New Orleans. 6. What did Jackson do? Describe the 
attack. Result. 7. Describe General Jackson's attack. What of 
the fog? Result? 8. Give the substance of this section. 9. How 
many men did Jackson have? The British? How nmny were 
killed? What did the two armies do now? 



72 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

AN ERA OF PEACE. 

1. The good angel of peace came at last, bringing joy to the 
hearts of all American citizens, who were wearied with three 
years of war. When hostilities ceased, it seemed a great thing 
to our people to again enjoy the full benefits of trade and com- 
merce. British cruisers had made many foreign commodities very 
scarce and costly. It was therefore gratifying to the people to 
see the stores again filled with goods. These nations agreed to 
stop, without settling a single one of the causes of the war. Eng- 
land did not even agree to cease impressing men from the United 
States navy, but this was no more practiced. The treaty of 
peace was ratified by the United States Senate, Februarv 7, 
1815. ^ 

2. Tennessee had her trials and triumphs through successive 
wars for almost forty years, until 181 5. We are now introduced 
to an era of peace and political and material progress of thirty 
years' continuance, to the war with Mexico. Political, social, 
religious and commercial questions now make up the events of 
history in the main. Our vState had already produced her share 
of the great and useful inventors of note in industrial history. 

3. In 1815, Joseph McMinn, Robert Weakley, Jesse Wharton, 
Robert C. P'oster and Thomas Johnson were candidates for Gov- 
ernor. Joseph McMinn was elected and served till 18 19. The 
election of Governor was now biennial, but McMinn overcame 
all opposition and was twice re-elected. Joseph McMinn was 
formerly a Penns^dvania farmer, but came to Tennessee after 
the Revolution and located in Hawkins county. He had little 
ability, but had held several olRces before he was elected to the 
office of Cxovernor. He was a plain Quaker, but his neighbors 
admired him very much. Jefferson's wise plans for common 
schools were almost inoperative here. The wealthy sent their 



AN ERA OF PEACE. 73 

children to seminaries and other good schools, and provided 
tutors for them, and stigmatized the common school as the pauper 
school. In 1816, an act levied a tax for the education of the 
orphans of those persons who had died in the service of the 
countr}'. In 181 7, the school lands were leased for the purpose 
of aiding schools. Although some of the best men in the State 
labored earnestly to secure an efficient s^^stem, the idea that free 
schools were established onl,v for the poor of the community 
could not be eradicated, and failure was the result. In 1827, a 
school fund was created. Two years later an act was passed 
establishing a system of public schools. 

4. The Chickasaw Indians yet owned the territory west of the 
Tennessee River, in both Kentucky and Tennessee, a body of 
seven million acres. In October, 18 18, the general government 
purchased this of the Indians for twenty thousand dollars, to be 
paid in fifteen annual instalments. In 1817, a petition was 
signed by many of the leading men of the State to locate a branch 
of the United State Bank at Nashville, but before it was con- 
sidered the Legislature passed a law forbidding the opening of 
such a bank in Tennessee. Ten years later the law was repealed 
and the bank, with a nominal capital of one million dollars, was 
established and did business until, in 1832, President Jackson 
vetoed the bill re-chartering the United States Bank, and it 
ceased to exist. 

5. The Tennesseeans in common with the people of the Western 
States experienced a disastrous financial panic in 1 820. Governor 
McMinn convened the Legislature in extra session, to provide 
means of relief. On July 26, an act was passed to establish a 
bank of the State of Tennessee, for the purpose of relieving the 
distress of the community and improving the revenues of the 
State. Tile capital stock was fixed at one million dollars, in 
bills paya])le to order or bearer, to l)e issued on the credit and 
security of the borrower, and the whole to be warranted by Ihe 
State on the proceeds of the sales of pu])]ic lands. The Treas- 



74 I'HE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

iirers of East and West Tennessee were ordered to deposit all the 
public moneys in the bank, and the Governor was authorized to 
issue stock bearing six per cent, interest, to an amount not 
exceeding- two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. By injudi- 
cious management, the bank was, in. i<S33, abolished, by sug- 
gestion of Governor Carroll. It had done very little good. 

6. In 1817, Monroe assumed the helm of the nation. He was 
one of the most equitable of men and filled the Presidential office 
satisfactorih'. He was born in Virginia, April 28, 1758, and, 
schooled in Jefierson's and Madison's principles, he was 
popular and safe. Utterly without ostentation, he possessed all 
the solid virtues, and in the consideration of men and measures 
he used the coolest judgment. Under his administration the 
Seminole war raged with savage fur}-, but its conduct was con- 
fided to Andrew Jackson. Florida w^as ceded to the United 
States for five million dollars. The acquisition w^as a grand one 
and was almost universally popular. Alabama, Maine and Illi- 
nois were now admitted to the Union. Louisiana was admitted 
under Madison. 

7. Anti-slaver}' agitation was already rife, the application of 
Missouri for admission to the sisterhood giving rise to a heated 
debate and the adoption of the Missouri Compromise Measures, 
by which slavery was prohibited North of 36^2 degrees. In 
1820, Monroe encountered no opposition, being elected by the 
unanimous suffrage, excepting one electoral 'vote. The most 
eventful occurrences under him were the admission of Missis- 
sippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine and Missouri, the purchase of 
Florida, the capture of Pensacola, the Seminole war, the pas- 
sage of the Missouri Compromise Measures, and the visit of 
Lafayette. 

8. In 1 82 1, William Carroll was a candidate for Governor, 
opposed by Edward Ward. Carroll was overwhelmingly elected 
and held this high position till 1827. In the last two campaigns 
he had no opposition. William C/irrqll was born in Pennsylvania 



AN ERA OF PEACH. 



75 




in 1789, but removed to Nashville 
ill 1 8 10 and opened a nail store. 
He delio^hted in niilitar\' tactics. 
He was in all things conscientious 
and careful. In many things he 
was wrong, but he had great influ- 
ence with the Legislature. The 
census in 1820 show^ed three hun- 
dred and thirt3'-nine thousand nine 
hundred and twenty-seven whites, 
two thousand seven hundred and 
thirty-nine free negroes, and eighty- Gov. william carroll. 
two thousand eight hundred and eighty-four slaves in Ten- 
nessee. 

9. The history of tobacco cultivation in Tennessee dates back 
to its earliest settlement. The pioneers who settled in the fertile 
valle3^s of the Watauga, Nolichucky and Holston Rivers raised 
it for their own consumption. The Cumberland .settlers also 
cultivated it. By 1820, seven thousand hogsheads were annually 
sent to New Orleans and exchanged for coffee, sugar, salt and 
other commodities. In 18 18, the extinguishment of Indian titles 
in West Tennessee added immensely to the available area for 
cultivation. Prices were lovr, but it is said the co.st of production 
was less -than one dollar per hundred pounds. From 1830 to 
1840 its culture was widely extended. Henry county, in 1840, 
made nine million four hundred and .seventy-nine thousand and 
sixty-five pounds. In 1842, the first effort was made to establish a 
tobacco market at Clarksville, and in 1845, warehouses were 
erected for the care and inspection of tobacco. This is now the 
great staple of :Middle Tennessee. Clarksville is now the second 
large.st tobacco market in the world. It has sold over thirty-six 
million pounds in a single year. A few other cities sell it. 

10. In 1825, the State was graced by the visit of General 
Lafayette. A half century before he had left his wife and all 




COURT liOUSK, CI.ARKSVILLK. 



AN ERA OF PEACE. 77 

the charms of life in Paris to do battle in behalf of the struggling 
American colonies. After acting a distinguished part in the 
French Revolution, he had returned as the Nation's guest to 
receive the thanks of another generation for the great services 
he had rendered in the past. He went from State to State, every- 
where greeted with the utmost love and veneration. He soon 
returned to France in the United States ship Brandy wine, after 
receiving princely recognition and rewards from Congress. 

11. In this year also, considerable excitement was created on 
account of an extraordinary advance in the price of cotton. In 
a few weeks it rose from twelve to thirty-two cents a pound. 
This great advance was only temporarv, and many people were 
ruined b}' the sudden and unexpected decline. 

12. In 1 8 19, James Brown and General James Winchester ran 
the south boundary line between Tennessee and Mississippi, be- 
ginning at the northwest corner of the State of Alabama and 
running due west on thirtv-flfth degree latitude; the line ran to 
the lower end of President's Island, about four miles below Fort 
Pickering, and ten miles below the mouth of Wolf River. This 
year West Tennessee was purchased from the Choctaws and 
Chickasaws. Nashville was honored, June 6, by a visit from 
President Monroe. 

13. In 1824, there were four Presidential candidates, viz: 
Jackson and Crawford, Democrats; John Quincy Adams, Feder- 
alist; and Henry Clay, Whig. Of the popular and electoral 
votes, Jackson had a majority, but the will of the people was 
defeated and the election given to Adams, whose election was by 
dishonest means, through the coalition of John Quincy Adams 
and Henry Clay to defeat Jackson. This cost Clay his popu- 
larity, and he never regained his grand station in public estima- 
tion. 

14. In 1825, the election of John Quincy Adams to the Presi- 
dency, by the House of Representatives, gave a new aspect to 
political matters. General Andrew Jackson, who had received 



7^ THR HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

the largest popular vote, and was then a Senator from Tennessee, 
became the leader of those who were called ' ' Democrats. ' ' Those 
who opposed him were called "Whigs." 

15. Adams was elected as a Democrat-Republican, but soon 
found that party arrayed against him. Henry Clay and his ele- 
ment, and the Federalists, supported Adams. In Tennessee, 
many prominent men arrayed themselves with the new party. 
These Whigs advocated a continuance of the United States Bank, 
a tariff for protection on importations, and a distribution to the 
several States of the money realized from the sale of public 
lands. 

16. General Jackson and the Democrats favored a tariff for 
revenue. They contended that the National Bank was not only 
unauthorized b}' the Constitution, but dangerous to the liberties 
of the people. They were likewise unfriendh' to the plan of 
making the States pensioners of the General Government, as 
proposed in the policy of distribution. 

17. Soon great rancor developed between the two parties, both 
of which had lately been included in the Republican party. 
Henry Clay and John Randolph inaugurated animosities by a 
duel, and soon in Tennessee, as elsewhere, amenities were but 
little regarded between the Democrats and Whigs. 

18. This w^as very absurd. All were citizens of a free coun- 
try, and were entitled to hold and express opinions as to what 
was the best policy for the government to pursue. God has so 
constituted men that, if necessary, they must differ in opinion on 
all subjects. How weak and wicked, then, is the man who hates 
his brother because of the failure to agree on matters that are, 
after all, involved in doubt. 

19. It has been always so, however, for when the Constitution 
was framed in Philadelphia, in 1787, all the States but Massa- 
chusetts recognized the legal it}^ of vSlave propert3\ Verj^ soon 
afterwards, the "Society of African Emancipation," with Dr. 
Benjamin Franklin as its President, w^as organized. It petitioned 



INSTITUTIONS ORGANIZED. 79 

Congress to abolish slavery in the States and Territories, but was 
answered that the Constitution left this matter to the States, and 
that the Federal authorities had no power to do it. 

Questions.— I. How did the people feel at the return of 
peace? What had British cruisers done? 2. What had Ten- 
nessee done? To what are we now^ introduced ? What has our 
State produced? 3. Who were the candidates for Governor in 
1 8 1 5 ? Who was elected ? For how long ? What did the people 
think of free schools? 4. Who owned the West Tennessee terri- 
tor\^? How many acres in iti^ What of the bank^of Nashville? 
Capital? 5. What was experienced in 1820? What did the 
Governor do? Why? 6. What occurred in 1817? What can 
you say of him ? For what sum was Florida ceded to the United 
States? 7. What caused the anti-slavery agitation? Name the 
principal events in Monroe's administration. 8. In 1821, who 
were the candidates for Governor? What was the [census in 
1820? 9. What can you say of tobacco culture? Name a mar- 
ket. 10. What occurred in '1825? What did he get? 11. What 
created excitement? Result of panic? 12. Who ran the south 
boundary line? When? 13. Name the Presidential candidates 
in 1824.' Who was elected? How? 14. Give the substance 
of this section. 15. What was his politics? Whigs? 16. What 
did Jackson favor? What of the bank? 17. What developed 
from the tw^o parties? 18. Why was this absurd? 19. How 
many States recognized the legality of slavery ? What was the 
object of the "Society of African Emancipation?" 



CHAPTER XIV. 

institutions organized. 

I. The Legislature met at Murfreesboro from 18 19 to 1826, but 
Cxovernor Carroll, April 8, 1826, in a proclamation, declared 
Nashville the Capitol of the State from May i, ensuing. The 
cotton crop of the State for 1826 was estimated at fifty thousand 
bales. During this year the finst newspaper at Memphis, "The 



8o 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



was established. The Nashville Bank 



Governor William White aiid Samuel Houston fought a 




Memphis Advocate 

failed. 

duel. 

2. In 1827, Samuel Houston was elected Governor, serving 
till April 16, 1829, when he resigned, and William Hall, Speaker 
of the Senate, became Governor, serving till October i, 1829. 

Samuel Houston was born near Lex- 
ington, Rockbridge count}-, Virginia, 
March 2, 1793. He enlisted as a 
common soldier in the war of 181 2, 
was chosen ensign, and fought under 
Jackson with a courage that won his 
lasting friendship. In 1823, he was 
chosen Member of Congress. In Jan- 
uary, 1829, he married the daughter 
of an ex-Governor; and in the follow- 
ing April, for reasons never made 
GOV. SAMUEL HOUSTON, public, abandoned wife, country-, and 
civilization, was adopted as a son by the chief of the Cherokee 
nation, and was formally admitted as a chief. The Texas war 
offered a new field to his ambition. He was made Commander- 
in-Chief. The Americans at first sustained some severe defeats, 
and Houston was obliged to retreat before the Mexicans under 
Santa Anna for nearly three hundred miles, but suddenly turn- 
ing on his pursuers, he. fought the remarkable and decisive battle 
of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, at one blow annihilated the 
Mexican army, and achieved the independence of Texas. The 
hero of San Jacinto was elected first President of Texas, and re- 
elected in 1 84 1, and on the annexation of Texas to the United 
vStates, in 1845, was sent to Congress. In 1859, he was elected 
Governor of Texas. He opposed secession, but retired to private 
life when opposition was fruitless, and died in 1862. 

3. William Hall was born in Virginia, and came to Tennessee 
when young, had l^een Sheriff of Sumner county. Brigadier- 



INSTITUTIONS ORGANIZED. 



8l 




GOV. WILLIAM HALL. 



General ot the Fourth Regiment of Stata Militia during the 
Creek war, at various times a member 
of the State lyegislature, and, in 1823, 
Speaker pro tem. of the Senate. He 
possessed the important qualification 
of being an intimate friend of Jackson. 
October 28, 1829, the act providing 
for the building of a penitentiary 
became a law. Ten acres of ground, 
about one mile southwest of the Court 
House in Nashville, was selected as 
a site, and work began immediately 
under the supervision of the architect, 
David Morrison, who quarried the 
rock, upon the grounds, used in its construction, and so vigor- 
ous was the work prosecuted that a proclamation was issued by 
the Governor, January i, 1831, announcing the penitentiary 
open to receive prisoners. The cost of the building was about 
fifty thousand dollars. In 1857, the west wing was added at a 
cost of thirty-six thousand dollars, and in 1867, two large shops, 
known as the east and west shops, were built. Its first prisoner 
was W. G. Cook, from Madison county, convicted of malicious 
stabbing and assault and battery. Being a tailor, he made his 
own clothes. 

4. The cholera, in 1833, invaded the penitentiary, and its 
ravages were so rapid that in a few days business was suspended 
and an extra force of nurses and physicians employed. Not one 
of the eighty-three convicts escaped the disease, and nineteen 
died. The State utilized this convict labor in manufacturing 
various articles of trade. The departments soon added were: 
shoe-making, coopering, stone-cutting, tailoring, chair-making, 
blacksraithing, hatting, wagon-making, carpentering, and brick- 
laying. The State aimed to employ the convicts, as far as possible, 
upon such work as would least compete with private manufacture. 



82 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

5. This system was continued till 1866, when the inspectors 
reported that for the previous thirty years this institution had 
cost the State an average of fifteen thousand dollars a 3'ear. At 
its session in that year, the Legislature passed an act to establish 
a board of three Directors, who were authorized to lease the con- 
victs, prison and machinery to the highest bidder for a term of 
four years. The lease was made to Hyatt, Briggs and Moore, 
afterward Ward and Briggs, at forty cents a day for each convict, 
and the State was to provide guards to preserve discipline. In 
May, 1867, three hundred mutinous convicts attempted to escape, 
and not succeeding, in the following month they burnt the east 
shops. The lessees refused to pay for the labor and claimed 
damages, because the State did not preserve order. Finally, 
the State paid them one hundred and thirty-two thousand two 
hundred dollars and sixty-four cents for damages and material 
lost. 

6. In 1871, it was leased to Cherry, O'Connor «& Co., and 
again in 1876. It then paid the State over one hundred thousand 
dollars a year. After this the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad 
Company, with headquarters at Tracy City, leased it. The 
Legislature of 1893 abolished the old prison at Nashville, and 
authorized a committee to purchase another site and connect the 
prison with a farm, believing this would secure better results 
and ameliorate many of the hard features of prison life. 

7. The Legislature, October 19, 1832, passed an act to build 
a lunatic hospital to be located at Nashville. A site one mile 
from the city was secured and ten thousand dollars appropriated 
to pay for the same and erect suitable buildings. The asylum 
was not ready for occupancy till 1840. In 1843, there were only 
thirteen patients in this institution, which had cost over fifty-six 
thousand dollars. In 1847, Miss D. L. l)ix visited Tennessee 
and found the accommodations for the insane inadequate. She 
memorialized the Legislature for its betterment. Disposition 
was made of the hospital jiiuL'^ite, and a healthy location secured, 



INSTITUTIONS ORGANIZED. 83 

upon which a commodious and magnificent structure was erected 
which for a long time was amply sufficient to accommodate the 
insane of the State. 

8. The Superintendent of this asylum, in 1883, urged the 
Legislature, as he had done previously, to provide more ample 
accornmodations for the insane. At its session in this year, the 
Legislature appropriated eighty thousand dollars for the erection 
of the East Tennessee Insane Asylum, near Knoxville. The 
original appropriation being exhausted, in 1885, the Legislature 
granted ninety-five thousand dollars more for its completion. 
March i, 1886, this asylum was ready for occupanc}' . Its site, 
Lyon's View, is one of the most beautiful and desirable that 
could have been obtained. 

9. With these two large asylums, it was found necessary to 
provide another for the rapidly increasing number of insane, and 
an appropriation of eighty-five thousand dollars was made for 
the erection of a similar institution near Bolivar, in Hardeman 
county. This building, constructed of brick with white stone 
trimmings, cost over two hundred thousand dollars, and accom- 
modates hundreds of the unfortunate wards of the State. 

10. As early as 1834 or 1835, the Tennessee Agricultural and 
Horticultural Society was organized, and annual fairs were held 
for a few years, which did much to develop these industries in 
the State. This society was represented by some of the best men 
in the State. In 1840, it established the "Tennessee State Agri- 
culturist, with Tolbert Fanning, editor. For the promotion of 
farming, the Tennessee State Agricultural Society was organized 
in 1842, with authorized capital stock of one hundred thousand 
dollars. 

11. The Medical vSociety of Tennessee was incorporated b\- an 
act of the Legislature, passed January 9, 1830. One hundred 
and fifty-four physicians, residing in the various counties of the 
vState, were named in the charter. They were allowed to appoint 
boards of censors, to grant lictn_ses t<) applicants to practice 



rXSTlTUTIOXS ORGANIZKI). 85 

medicine. The first meeting was held in Nashville, May 3, 
1830, and its organization completed by adopting a constitution 
and by-laws and a code of medical ethics, and electing officers 
for two years. 

12. The first Constitution of Tennessee had been so wisely 
constructed as to subserve its purpose for forty years without 
urgent necessity being felt for its revision. In 1833. in response 
to a demand in various directions for its amendment, the Legis- 
lature passed an act, November 27, providing for the calling of a 
convention, which should consist of sixty members, who should 
be elected on the first Thursday and Friday of March following, 
and that it should -meet at Nashville on the third Monday in 
May. On ?^Iay 19, 1834, it assembled and elected Willie Blount, 
of Montgomery county, temporary Chairman, and W. B. Carter 
w^as elected President. Many changes were made in the old 
Constitution. 

13. Before this revision, a supreme and despotic power was 
given the Legislature, whose members usually had the leisure to 
be candidates and the means to be successful. Those primitive 
days had election expenses. The Legislature elected all judges, 
State attorneys and justices of the peace. Justices of the peace 
composed the County Courts, who elected the sheriff, coroner, 
trustee and constable. These officers were almost unimpeacha- 
ble. The convention adjourned August 30, 1834. I^ 1830, the 
census showed five hundred and thirt3'-five thousand seven hun- 
dred and forty-six whites, and one hundred and forty-six thousand 
one hundred and fifty-eight slaves in Tennessee. 

Questions. — i. Where had the Legislature been meeting? 
What did the Governor announce? 2. What occurred in 1827? 
Give a short sketch of the life of Houston. 3. What of the peni- 
tentiary? Where located? 4. What occurred in it in 1833? 
Name its business departments. 5. What did the Inspectors 
report? Why was it leased? With what result? 6. Who were 
the lessees? What was done in 1893? 7- What of insane asy- 



86 THK HIS1*0RY OF TENNESSEE. 

lums? How many are there and what have they cost? 8. Give 
the substance of this section. 9. Name and locate the third 
asylum. 10. When and for what purpose was the Tennessee 
Agricultural and Horticultural Society organized? 11. When 
was the Medical Society organized? 12. What of the first Con- 
stitution of Tennessee? How many members revised it? 13. 
Give the substance of this section. 



CHAPTER XV. 

GREAT HEROES EI.EVATED. 

1. General Jackson was pre-eminently a militar}^ man, born 
with the martial instinct, and a Revolutionary soldier at the 
childish age of thirteen. He was born in North Carolina, but 
his parents moved to Tennessee while he was but an infant. 
His career in camps and upon his country's battle-fields had left 
to the rugged soldier but little time for courtly graces or a finished 
education, but the native vigor of his mind was wonderful, and his 
honesty absolutely incorruptible. When approached by Clay's 
friends for a bargain, in 1824, he bluntly told them that he would 
see them, and Mr. Clay himself, sunk into the earth before he 
would soil his honor by such foul huckstering and defiance of 
the people's will. 

2. Adams' unscrupulous conduct in his midnight appoint- 
ments really forced upon Jackson the sweeping displacements by 
which numbers were thrown out of office and their places sup- 
plied by Democrats. Then, too, he might have thought he was 
bound in honor to reward the Democracy for its services, and 
console it for its former disappointment. He could, in all 
seriousness, have claimed that every man appointed by Adams 
was fraudulently appointed and was therefore unworthy of the 
place. 



GREAT HEROES ELEVATED. 87 

3. Jackson's services to his country were vast and varied. 
For over half a century he had been her brave and faithful sol- 
dier against foreign and domestic foes, and he was in every way 
worthy of the honor conferred by the gift of the Presidency. His 
two terms of oihce w^ere from 1829 to 1837. He was a true 
friend, and an open, honorable enemy, and possessed of indomi- 
table courage. His diplomacy savored rather of the camp than 
the court, but it w^as most effectual. By the treaty of 1831, 
France agreed to pay to the United States five million dollars 
indemnity for injuries to American commerce. 

4. In 1834, that nation had not paid the money, and Jack- 
son ordered home the American minister then at Paris, and 
advised that P'rench vessels should be seized in lieu of the money. 
His method proved effectual, and France at once paid the amount 
promised. 

5. In personal character Jackson was rather dictatorial — the 
result, no doubt, of a life spent in military commands, 
where he was supreme, and where such seeming lordliness 
might easily have been acquired. He was what Dr. Johnson 
called a "good hater," but he was also the stanche.st of friends 
to those in whom he placed confidence, or to whom he owed 
gratitude. 

6. He was the uncompromising enemy of that first of American 
money monopolies, the National Bank, and vetoed and re-vetoed 
it W'ith a will. Doing nothing until he was assured that he was 
in the right, he seldom faltered or turned back. 

7. President Jackson's finst Cabinet was: Martin Van Buren, 
New York, Secretary of State; S. D. Ingram, Penn.sylvania. 
Secretary of the Treasury; John H. Eaton. Tennessee, Secretary 
of War; John Branch, North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy: 
W. T. Barry, Kentucky, Postmaster-General; John McPherson 
Berrien, Georgia, Attorney-General. Jackson's first Cabinet did 
not heartily co-operate with him, and in the formation of his 
second Cabinet the following were selected; Edward Livingston, 



88 , THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

lyouisiana, Secretary of State; Louis McLane, Delaware, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury; Lewis Cass, Ohio, Secretary of War; Levi 
Woodbury, New Hampshire, Secretary of the Navy; Roger B. 
Taney, Maryland, Attorney-General; W. T. Barry, Kentucky, 
Postmaster-General. 

8. The principal occurrences during Jackson's administration 
were the Black Hawk and Seminole wars, the tariff legislation, 
South Carolina nullification, vetoing the National Bank charter 
renewal, removal of government funds from the National Bank, 
admission of Arkansas, anti-slavery agitation, the great panic, 
twenty million dollar fire in New York, and the massacre of 
Major Dade and his command of one hundred and seventeen 
men, but a single one escaping. Jackson was born March 15, 
1767, and died June 8, 1845. 

9. In 1829, in the election of Governor, William Carroll was a 
candidate, and was elected, serving till 1835, when Newton 
Cannon was elected, defeating William Carroll and West H. 
Humphre3^s. Cannon served till 1839. In those days there 
were no strong issues to agitate the people as there are now. 
The masses were ignorant and did not know the real issues, 
hence party favoritism was a strong incentive in the elections, 
the voters thinking little of qualification. 

10. Hugh L. White was born in North Carolina, October 30, 
1773, and removed to Knox county, Tennessee, in 1786. In 
1796, he began the practice of law, and was Judge of the Supreme 
Court of Tennessee from 1801 to 1815, except from 1807 to 1809, 
during which period he was State Senator. In 181 5, he became 
President of the old State Bank of Tennessee. In 1825, he was 
elected to the United States Senate, and was acting Vice-President 
of that body in 1832. He was re-elected to the United States 
Senate in 1835. Jackson and his friends opposed his re-election. 
White was a Presidential candidate in 1836, receiving only the 
votes of Georgia and Tennessee. The Legislature instructed 
him to support the leading mea.sures of Van Buren's administra- 



GREAT HEROES ELEVATED. 



89 




tioii, but this he disliked, and on January 27, 1840, he re- 
signed. He was an elector for the State-at-large, in 1840, on 
the Harrison ticket, but died April 10, 1840. 

1 1 . David Crockett was born in 
East Tennessee, August 17, 1786. 
He was in the Creek war, after which 
he located in Giles county, where 
he was elected Colonel of militia 
and to the Legislature. Soon after 
he removed to Obion county and 
was again, in 1823, elected to the 
Legislature. He was a Congres- 
sional candidate in 1825, but was 
defeated. Two years later he was 
successful. Not admiring Jackson, col. david Crockett. 

he opposed his leading measures, which led to his defeat for re- 
election. He emigrated to Texas and took part in the siege 
of the Alamo. After its downfall, Crockett was taken prisoner 
and killed by the Mexicans, March 6, 1836. 

12. Newton Cannon was born in 
North Carolina, in 1781, but re- 
moved to Williamson county, Ten- 
nessee. In 181 1, he was elected 
to the Legislature. He entered the 
Creek war as a private, but was 
soon elected Captain, and then 
Colonel, of the Tennessee Mounted 
Rifles. In 18 14, Felix Grundy re- 
signed his seat in Congress and 
was succeeded by Cannon, who was 
in Congress, one term excepted, 
until 1823; during that intermis- 




GOV. NEWTON CANNON. 



sion he was negotiating a treaty with the Chickasaws. Cannon, 




90 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

Crockett and Bell opposed Jackson, and voted for Hugh L. 
White. They were Democrat- Republicans. 

13. John Bell was born near Nashville, February 15, 1797. 
He located at Franklin, and was elected, in 181 7, to the State 

Senate, after which he devoted him- 
self to law and literature. In 1827, 
he opposed Felix Grundy for Congress 
and was overwhelmingly elected. 
Bell hated Jackson, and went to Con- 
gress eager to manifest his opposi- 
tion. In 1834, he was elected Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, but 
Polk defeated him for it in 1835. Bell 
remained in Congress till 18^7. He 

HON. JOHN BELL. , , •^- • o \t 

had no opposition in 1835. He was 
Secretary of War in President Harrison's Cabinet in 1841. He 
and Tyler had an altercation, on account of which he retired 
and declined an election to the United States Senate. He was 
elected to the vState Legislature in 1847, and then to the United 
State Senate, where he remained till 1857. He was nominated, 
in i860, for the Presidency by the Constitutional Union party, 
and carried Virginia, Kentucky- and Tennessee. He opposed 
vSecession, but went with his vState. He died September 10, 
1869. 

14. John H. Eaton was born in Tennessee in 1790. He began 
the practice of the law at Nashville. In 18 18, he succeeded 
George W. Campbell in the United States Senate, where he 
remained till 1829, when he became Secretary of War in Jack- 
son's first Cabinet. He was Governor of Florida Territory from 
1834 to 1836, and Minister to Spain from 1836 to 1840. When 
he returned to Tennessee he supported Harrison, which made 
him unpopular with his old friends. He completed the "Life 
of Jackson," begun by Reed, which was published in 1834, and 
died in Washington City in 1856. 



GREAT HEROES ELEVATED. 



91 



15. Cave Johnson was born in Robertson county, Tennessee, 
Januar}^ 11, 1793. He practiced law till 1820, when he became 
Circuit Judge. In 1829, he was elected to Congress, where he 
remained till 1837. ^^ ^""'^^ Postmaster-General in Polk's Cabi- 
net, and was President of the State Bank of Tennessee from 1850 
to 1859. In 1863, he was was elected to the State Senate as a 
Unionist, but being feeble in health, he declined to serve, and 
died at Clarksville, January 23, 1866. 

16. Felix Grundy was born, September 11, 1777, in what is 
now" West Virginia. In 1779, he removed with his parents to 
Pennsylvania and, in 1780, to Ken- 
tucky. He was, in 1799, a member 
of the Kentucky Constitutional Con- 
vention, and subsequently a member 
of the Kentucky , Legislature. He 
was appointed, in 1806, to the Su- 
preme Bench, and became, in 1807, 
Chief Justice of Kentucky. Resign- 
ing, he went to Nashville, Tennessee, 
where he made the reputation of being 
the ablest criminal lawyer in the 
Southwest. In 181 1 and 18 13, he was hon. felix grundy. 
elected to Congress, but resigned in 1813. He was an active 
factor in the State Legislature till' 1827. That year, John Bell 
defeated him for Congress, but. in 1829, he was elected United 
States Senator. He became Attorney-General in Van Buren's 
Cabinet in 1838, but soon resigned to succeed E. H. Foster, 
whom the Legislature forced to resign for disloyalty. Grundy 
had ability, energy and magnetism. He died at Nashville, 
December 19, 1840. 

17. The number of great men which Tennessee has produced 
is legion. Suffice it to say that not even a creditable notice can 
be given in a volume like this, and only a few of the most con- 
spicuous can be reviewed. Later the student will study the his- 




92 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

tory of the United States, in which he will find much epitomized 
in connection with what he has already studied, as these men 
have participated in national issues from the first. 

Questions. — i. What is said of Jackson? Clay? 2. What 
dicTAdams do? 3. *What of Jackson's services? Ability? 4. 
What did he do in 1834? Result!' 5. Give his personal char- 
acteristics. Why? 6. What did he oppose? Why? 7. What 
of his Cabinets? 8. Name the principal events in his adminis- 
tration. 9. Who was elected Governor? When? 10. Sketch 
Hugh L. White's life. 11. What can you say of David Crockett? 
12. Outline the life of Newton Cannon. 13. Give the substance 
of this section. 14. What of John H. Eaton ? 15. Give prin- 
cipal events in the life of Cave Johnson. 16. Tell what you 
know of Felix Grundy. 17. What of the great men of Ten- 
nessee? 18. What will vou find later? 



1 



CHAPTER XVI, 



THE RISE OF PARTIES. 



1. In the early days in Tennessee there seems to have been 
but one party, and that was Jackson's party. He had settled 
in the Mero District, which is now Middle Tennessee, when it 
was covered in primeval canebrakes, and was one of its first 
Representatives in Congress, both in the House and Senate, and 
had really little or no opposition for any place in the manage- 
ment of public affairs that he sought. 

2. In 1824, his State went almost solidly for him for the Presi- 
dency, and, in 1828, not more than one thousand votes were cast 
against him. When his last term w^as closing, and he declined 
to be a candidate again, his friends desiring to retain the Presi- 
dential hold on the United States urged him to support Hugh L. 
White. This he declined, believing the candidates should be 



THE RISE OF PARTlEvS. 93 

• nominated in convention. Jackson favored Martin Van Buren, 
of New York, who had been his Vice-President. 

3. This arrayed White's friends against Jackson, and seem- 
ingly they were going to succeed in White's election, but at this 
juncture journalism was thoroughly organized all over the State, 
with the most brilliant contributors. These held up in bright 
panoramic view and review the many great things that had charac- 
terized the eventful life of Jackson, w^ho had nominated Van 
Buren to the Court of St. James, but whose nomination the 
Senate refused to confirm. When it was publicly knowm that 
Jackson preferred Van Buren, it excited the ire of the leading 
politicians in Tennessee, w^ho organized a party for Judge White, 
denounced Van Buren \s nomination, and accused Jackson of 
deserting them for the purpose of naming his successor. This 
party went in a body against the Democratic nominee and Jack- 
son, giving the vote of the State to White. 

4. In 1837, almost the entire press, and all the politicians but 
Polk and Grundy, were for White. For a time they endeav- 
ored to show Jackson disloyal to his State, and the election 
went for the partisans of White. This made Jackson, w^ho was 
then in retirement at the Hermitage, unpleasant, after leading 
such an active life. In 1838, an organization was made by 
Jackson's friends to carry the election in 1839. The ablest jour- 
nalists were put at the helm of the most influential papers, and 
with untiring energy and zeal worked for Jackson's issue. 

5. In the meantime, James K. Polk's term as Speaker ended, 
and he came home from Congress to do battle for Democracy. 
The campaign waxed hotter and hotter, until in May, June and 
July, up to the day of the election in August, it became the most 
ardent political contest that had ever occurred in the State. 
Colonel Polk rode on horseback from Carter to Shelby, making 
speeches in every county, and wherever the people would meet 
to hear him. Governor Cannon, his competitor, met him every- 
where. Candidates were addressing the people every day. 



94 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSKE. 

and the newspapers were filled with crimination and recrimina- 
tion. 

6. Personal conflicts between partisans occurred almOvSt daily 
and it seemed as if difference of political opinions could not be 
tolerated in Tennessee and personal friendship preserved and 
maintained, but the result was the election of Polk Governor b}^ 
an immense majorit5\ The Legislature had a Democratic ma- 
jority in both houses, by which Felix Grundy was elected to the 
United States Senate. It w^as a joyous day to Jackson. 

7. Jackson loved to tell how much he was gratified when his 
own dear Tennessee came back to him; how he knew it would 
do so, when the people should be made to see the mere partisan 
management by which they had been estranged from him; and 
what unbounded confidence he had in their virtue and intelli- 
gence. This grand political achievement brought Governor 
Polk before the country as a man of mark in his party, and con- 
tributed to give him, more than any other event of his life, that 
prominence which led to his nomination and election to the 
Presidency in 1844. 

8. The animosity of this contest grew out of a faction led by Henry 
Clay, of Kentucky, who was a powerful and famous Whig. Clay 
never liked Jackson, of whom he never lost an opportunity to 
speak discreditably. In 1840, the census showed this population 
in Tennessee: Whites, six hundred and forty thousand six hun- 
dred and twenty-seven; free negroes, five thousand five hundred 
and twenty-four; slaves, one hundred and eighty-eight thousand 
five hundred and eighty-three. Ex-Governor William Carroll 
died at Nashville, March 22, 1844. 

9. In the session of 1839-40, the Legislature enacted a law to 
establish a system of public schools. Laws had before been 
enacted, but education had never received the attention it 
deserved. Many appropriations had been made to the support 
of common schools, but the system adopted had proved inefficient 
and by no means equal to the expectation of those who first 



THE RISE OF PARTIES. 95 

established them, and a prejudice existed against academies and 
colleges. 

10. A common school convention met at Knoxville, April 19, 
1847. I^ recommended the appointment of a board of education 
for each county, whose duty would be to examine applicants and 
grant licenses to teachers, with various other duties connected 
with the schools. They reported, in 1840, fift3'-eight thousand 
five hundred and thirty-one whites over twenty 3'ears of age who 
could neither read nor write. This was ver}^ mortifying to the 
people, who were anxious for the education of their friends and 
children. 

11. The State had for a long time been terrorized by John A. 
Murrell and his gang but, in 1835, it was broken up by hanging 
five of the leaders at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and appointing 
vigilance committees throughout the Southwest. Nothing was 
too wicked for Murrell, who had killed many inoffensive people 
and stolen much valuable property. He was born in Middle 
Tennessee, where his history is yet familiar. 

12. The Presidential vote of the State was: Harrison, Whig, 
sixty thousand three hundred and ninety-one; Van Buren, Dem- 
ocrat, forty-eight thousand two hundred and eighty-nine. The 
Constitution of 1834 favored internal improvements by the State 
subscribing one-half of the stock in all railroad and turnpike 
companies, provided the amount of stock taken by the State had 
not reached four million dollars. This was soon found to be un- 
wise and, in 1840, the law was repealed. 

13. At this period many railroads Vv'ere being built, and the 
systems, after having undergone many changes, exist in modified 
and improved forms. They have done so much for the develop- 
ment of the great resources of our country that progressive people 
will always look with interest to the construction of railroads, 
turnpikes, and the improvement of rivers, for they bear away the 
commerce of the world, facilitate transportation, and bring com- 
modities to our doors. 



96 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



14. Henry Clay, the real founder of the Whig party, was 
present at the great Nashville Whig convention which met 
August 17, 1840. Clay was one of the greatest men of his day, 
and when it was known that he would be present at that conven- 
tion it added intensely to the already- great interest which was 
developing throughout the country. Delegates were present 
from all over the Union, and Clay made an imposing speech, in 
w^hich he displayed great intelligence, and it created such en- 
thusiasm, that the Democrats became dejected over their pros- 
pects, and the Whig candidates, Harrison and Tyler, were elected 
to the Presidency and Vice-Presidency. After the inauguration, 
Harrison lived onl}^ one month, and was succeeded by Tyler. 

15. Polk was a fascinating and successful stump-speaker. In 
1 84 1, the Whigs were much encouraged over the election of 
Harrison, and they nominated James C. Jones for Governor. 
They sought a man whom they could put against Polk, who was 
now very distinguished, but Jones' reputation as an eloquent 
speaker was unbounded. The campaign elicited strong demon- 
strations of party fealty, but resulted in the election of Jones, 
Governor. 

16. James C. Jones was born April 
20, 1809, in Davidson county, Ten- 
nessee. In 1837 and 1839, he was 
elected to the Legislature from Wilson 
county. He was an elector on the 
Harrison ticket in 1840, was Gov- 
ernor from 1 84 1 to 1845, and in 1848, 
was a delegate to the National Whig 
Convention. He removed to Memphis 
in 1850, and became the first Presi- 
dent of the Memphis and Charleston 
Railroad. In 1851, he was elected 

United vStates Senator, after which he was a Democrat, and died 

at Memphis, October 29, 1859. 




GOV. JAMES C. JONES. 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



97 



Questions. — i. What of parties? Jackson? 2. What occurred 
in 1824? 3. What effect did this have? What did the Demo- 
crats do? 4. What was the condition of affairs in 1837? 5- 
What of James Knox Polk? The campaign? 6. Who was 
elected Governor? United States Senator? 7. Give the sub- 
stance of this section. 8. From what did this animosity grow? 
9. What of the public school system? 10. What did the con- 
vention recommend? II. What of John A. Murrell? 12. What 
did the Constitution favor? 13. What of railroads ? Turnpikes? 
14. Give the substance of this section. 15. Who were the can- 
didates for Governor? Result? 16. Sketch the life of James 
C. Jones. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



I. The agitation of slavery from 1840 to 1850 became more 
violent than ever before. The Abolitionists, avowing a law of 
conscience higher than the civil law, had grown to be an organ- 
ized and active minority, who 
declared an unqualified war on 
slavery in the South. By using 
money and systematic agencies, 
they fearlessly entered the South 
and aided many slaves to escape 
from their masters. In 1845, 
Aaron V. Brown, Democrat, 
was elected Governor over Eph- 
raim H. Foster, Whig. Brown 
was frequently a member of the 
Legislature. In 1839, he was 
elected to Congress, where he " ""'*■" ' 

served three successive terms, <^^-ov. aaron v. brown. 

and was a delegate to the Southern Convention at Nashville in 
1850, and also to the Baltimore Convention in 1852. He drafted 




98 THE HISTORY OF TKNNKSSEK. 

the platf(~)rin upon which Pierce was elected. In 1856, the Na- 
tional Democratic Convention gave him twenty-nine votes for 
the Vice-Presidency. He was Postmaster-General in Buchanan's 
Cabinet, and died in Washington City, March 8, 1859. 

2. The Republicans composed the law-abiding element of the 
anti-slavery party. They organized into a third national part_y 
and opposed the extension of slavery beyond the boundaries of 
the States in which it then existed, and insisted that every new 
State admitted into the Union should be, in the future, free 
soil. In Tennessee there were many citizens dissatisfied with 
slavery. 

3. In the lyCgislature of 184 1-2, the Whigs had a majority in 
the Lower House. With the Speaker, Samuel Turney, the vote 
in it was thirteen Democrats to twelve Whigs. White and 
Foster, United States Senators, had resigned becaused they could 
not conscientioush^ obey and vote their Legislative instructions 
about the United States Bank, etc. With that session, Ander- 
son's and Nicholson's appointments to the United States Senate 
expired. The Democrats in the Senate refused to elect United 
States Senators, and Governor Jones appointing none, Tennessee 
was unrepresented in the United States Senate from 1841 to 
1843. In 1841, President Harrison appointed John Bell, vSecre- 
tary of War. John I). Kelly was appointed Superintendent of 
the Insane Asylum. 

4. At Baltimore, in 1844, James Knox Polk was nominated 
b}^ the Democrats, and in Noveml^er elected to the Presi- 
dency of the United States, making the second President from 
Tennessee. Van Buren was the most popular candidate until 
by thoughtless expressions he impaired his popularity, thereby 
bringing forward Polk, who had been prominent in public 
affairs for several years, during which time he held many posi- 
tions of usefulness. 

5. James K. Polk was born November 2, 1795, in Mecklen- 
burg county, North Carolina. With his father, he came to 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



99 




Tennessee in 1806, was clerk of 
the Tennessee vSenate in 1820, and 
in 1823, was a member of the Leg- 
islature. In 1825, he was elected 
to Congress, serving continuously 
until 1839. From 1835 to 1839, he 
was Speaker of the House. Com- 
ing home, in 1839, he defeated 
Newton Cannon for Governor, but 
in 1 84 1 and 1843, James C. Jones 
defeated him for the same office. 
The Tennessee Legislature nomi- 
nated him for Vice-President, in pres. james k. polk. 
1840. Four 3^ears later, the Democrats nominated him for the 
Presidency and he was elected, but Clay, his competitor, car- 
ried this State, the first instance in which a President was 
elected and failed to carry his State. He died at Nashville, June 
15, 1849. 

6. The country had not witnessed a brighter administration 
than Polk's. In 1846, a treaty was made with Great Britain by 
which the northwest boundary was determined. James Buchanan 
succeeded in securing an agreement by both nations to Webster's 
old line, the forty-ninth parallel. All was determined but the 
extreme northwest corner. The treaty of Washington, in 1871, 
completed this. Polk's Cabinet was: James Buchanan, Penn- 
sylvania, Secretary of State; R. J. Walker, Massachusetts, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury; W. L- Marcy, New York, Secretary of 
War; George Bancroft, Massachusetts, Secretary of the Navy; 
Cave Johnson, Tennessee, Postmaster-General: John Y. Mason, 
Virginia, Attorney-General. 

7. A dispute arose over the Texas boundary, in which the 
Texans claimed west to the Rio Grande. Mexico claimed east 
to the Nueces. By annexation, this dispute was transferred to 
the United States. General Gaines and his army had been sent 



TOO THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

long before this to the Sabine as an "army of observation." 
General Taylor, afterwards President, and his army now be- 
came an "army of occupation," to guard the disputed territory 
between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. General Taylor 
was ordered back under penalty of war by General Santa Anna. 
This hastened Taylor in fortifying. The Mexicans crossed the 
Rio Grande and captured a detachment of men, in which engage- 
ment several Americans were killed. May 13, 1846, Congress 
declared war. 

8. In 1846, Governor Brown issued a call for two thousand 
and eight hundred volunteers, to which thirty thousand re- 
sponded. In the first conflict at Palo Alto, Taylor defeated the 
Mexicans. The next da}^ he defeated the Mexican army at 
Resaca de la Palma. These battles caused Congress to declare 
war. Taylor remained at Matamoras till the autumn of 1846. 
From Matamoras he marched to Monterey, and after a four days' 
fight the cit}^ was captured. Taylor met the Mexican General, 
Santa Anna, who had twenty thousand men, at Buena Vista, on 
February 23, 1847, ^^^^^ again the Mexicans were repulsed. In 
the meantime, General Winfield Scott was doing valiant service 
in Central Mexico. Santa Anna sent a demand to Taylor for 
an unconditional surrender. The reply was: "General Taylor 
never .surrenders. ' ' 

9. General Scott landed his army near Vera Cruz, and after a 
severe bombardment captured the place March 20, 1847. In 
April, Scott defeated the Mexicans at Cerro Gordo, and entered 
La Puebla in May, where he remained until August, awaiting 
re-enforcements. These having arrived, he pushed towards the 
City of Mexico. On August 20, Scott's forces fought and won 
five battles: they stormed Contreras; they captured San Antonio; 
they stormed the two fortified heights of Churubusco; and they 
routed vSanta Anna's whole army that marched out of the city to 
oppose them. vScott then approached the city, and the defenses 
the Castle of Chapultepec, Molino del Re>', were stormed and 



THE MEXICAN WAR. lOI 

taken b}' General Worth. At the gates of the city, five days 
later, the battle raged with awful fury, when the strongest Mex- 
ican fort, the Castle of Chapultepec, was stormed and captured. 
The Mexican army, during the night, left the city, and the next 
morning the United States flag floated in triumph from the na- 
tional palace. This terminated the war with Mexico. 

ID. x\ treaty was made which ceded to the United States the 
countr}' of California and New Mexico, and guaranteed the free 
navigation of the Gulf of California. The United States agreed to 
pay Mexico fifteen million dollars, and an additional sum of 
three million dollars to such citizens of the United States as were 
creditors of Mexico. This is called the "Treaty of Guadaloupe- 
Hidalgo," from the Mexican town in which it was arranged. 
By conquest and purchase we acquired Texas, New Mexico, 
California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado, in area a mighty 
empire of itself, the importance of which we cannot estimate. 
The mineral wealth, the agricultural and live-stock products, 
and other resources of these vStates and Territories, affect the 
markets of the world. 

r I. General Ta^'lor's war record had made him so popular that 
he was nominated and elected to the Presidency by the Whig 
party in 1848. He died July 9, 1850, and was succeeded by 
Millard Fillmore, Vice-President. 

Questions. — i. What was the great theme now?* Give a 
sketch of Governor Brown. 2. What did the Republicans com- 
pose? 3. How was the Legislature divided? 4. Whom did the 
Democrats nominate? Why? 5. Give a biographical sketch of 
him. 6. What of his administration? 7. What occurred between 
Texas and Mexico? Why? 8. Give the substance of this sec- 
tion. 9. What of Scott's forces? 10. What did the treaty cede? 
For what? ri. What of General Taylor? Died when? Tell 
all you can of this war. 



I02 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE FEUD STRENGTHENS. 




GOV. NEIL S. BROWN, 



1. In 1847, Neil S. Brown, Whig, 
was elected Governor, defeating Aaron 
V. Brown. Neil S. Brown was born 
in Giles county, Tennessee, April rS, 
1 8 10. He entered the Florida cam- 
paign against the Seminoles, and was 
conspicuous in the Mud Creek battle, 
after which he was in the Legislature 
frequently. In 1836, he was on the 
electoral ticket for White and, in 1844, 
for Clay. He was Governor from 
1847 to 1849, and, in 1850, was Min- 
ister to Russia. He was returned to 

the Legislature in 1855, of which he became Speaker. He was 
prominent in the Constitutional Convention of 1870, and died at 
Nashville in 1886. 

2. In 1849, William Trousdale, 
Democrat, was elected Governor over 
Neil S. Brown. William Trousdale 
was born in North Carolina, Septem- 
ber 23, 1790. In 1796, his famih^ 
moved to Tennessee. He was in the 
Creek war at Tallashatchie and Talla- 
dega, and later with Jackson at Pen- 
sacola and New Orleans. In 1840, he 
was a Van Buren elector. He was in 
the Mexican war, in the battles of 
Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del 

In the last engas^ement he w^as twice 




GOV. WM. TROUSDALE. 

Re}^ and Chapultepec. 



wounded. For gallant conduct at Chapultepec, the President 



THK FKUD STRKNGTHENS. 



made him Britradier-Cxeneral by brevet in the United vStates 
army. President Pierce, in 1852, appointed him Minister to 
Brazil. He died March 27, 1872. 

3. The Sonthern Convention, which met in May, 1850, at 
Nashville, was controlled by pro-slavery men, who opposed 
Congress taking measures to thwart slave owners in their rights. 
There were many strong Democrats in this convention, who 
were conspicuous in favoring the resolutions, which this con- 
vention adopted, denouncing Congress for its action. Ex-Gov- 
ernor Aaron V. Brown prepared the address, and A. O. P. 
Nicholson drew up the resolutions. That element in Ten- 
nessee that opposed secession knew not what to think of this 
action. 

4. In 1 85 1, William B. Camp- 
bell was elected Governor by the 
Whigs. He was born near Nash- 
ville, February i, 1807. In 
1829, he was elected Attorne\-- 
General, and, in 1835, to the 
Legislature. In 1836, he was 
made Captain in Trousdale's 
regiment and fought through 
the Seminole war. He was a 
Member of Congress from 1837 
to 1843. He was Colonel, in 
1847, of the First Tennesse Reg- 
iment, that served in the Mexi- 
can war, fighting at Vera Cruz, 
vSubsequently, he became Judge of the P'ourth Circuit Court of 
Tennessee. He refused the command of the Tennessee troops 
in the late war, because he opposed secession. Lincoln commis- 
sioned him Brigadier-General in the Union army, but he .soon 
resigned. In 1-865, he was elected to Congress, and died August 
19, 1867. 




GOV. WILLIAM B. CAMPBELL. 

Cerro Gordo and Monterev 



I04 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

5. When California applied for admission into the Union, 
the spectre of coming strife and bloodshed was seen in the renewal 
of the struggle over the question of freedom or slavery in this 
new sister in the galax}^ of States. Southern men like Clay 
thought that the whole subject had been settled in 1820, when, 
by the Missouri Compromise, it had been ordained that involun- 
tary servitude should not obtain north of the geographical line 
36° 30' north latitude. 

6. It w^as understood that the surrender of the right to own 
slaves north of this line was the consideration for the admission 
of the right to own them south of it, and that this was what the 
compromise meant. They were told that the inhibition alone 
was effective, and that no such converse right was intended to 
be convej^ed as that contended for by the South. The most logi- 
cal of these men said Congress had exceeded its powers in the 
enactment mentioned, and that no power could settle the ques- 
tion but the people of the State. 

7. It was seen that "Wilmot's Proviso," which was an amend- 
ment continually offered by Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, excluding 
slavery from all future States, was the fixed determination of the 
North. After a bitter struggle, Henry Clay, as the last service 
of a long and illustrious life, procured the passage of the compro- 
mise of 1850, in which the only concession by the North was the 
"Fugitive Slave Law." 

8. This provided that Federal courts and officers should arrest 
and return to their owners such slaves as should be found ab- 
sconding in the different States, whether free or slave-holding. 
This was greeted by a prodigious outcry from the North. They 
determined that this national law should not be executed, and 
the different free States enacted personal liberty laws, which 
made it penal to aid Congress in executing its law. 

9. The Southern people were both exasperated and disheart- 
ened at such manifestations, and in view of such palpable viola- 
tions of their plain Constitutional right, began seriously to con- 



THK FEUD STRKNCxTHKNS. 105 

sider whether in a union with the North the arbitrary will of the 
people of those States was to be the rule of government rather 
than the Constitution solemnly agreed upon between their fore- 
fathers. If this were to be so, the dream of liberty, regulated by 
law in the Federal Union, was at an end. 

10. The election of Pierce to the Presidency, in 1852, was 
considered by many as a rebuke to those who had been so clam- 
orous in the North against the compromise of 1850. He was a 
warm supporter of the rights of the individual States, and the 
knowledge of this fact brought repose to the minds of Southern 
men. In 1853, John L. Marling went as Minister to Venezuela, 
and the Mississippi Central and Tennessee, Mississippi and 
Tennessee, and Nashville and Knoxville railroads, were incor- 
porated. This year an act was passed to establish a State Agri- 
cultural Bureau. Tennessee was thus manfully meeting the 
requirements of civilization, for the condition of the highways 
affords the truest test of a people's advancement in prosperity. 
About this year the Masonic Fraternity of Tennessee established 
an Institution at Clarksville known as the Masonic University 
of Tennessee. This school has changed several times, and is 
now known as the Southwestern Presbyterian University. 

11. Taylor's election to the Presidency did not strengthen the 
Whig cause. In June, 1852, at Baltimore, they nominated 
General Winfield Scott for President, and W. A. Graham for 
Vice-President, their best men. In the election they carried 
only four States, showing that the star of their political destiny 
had forever set. Tennessee was one of the four. Democratic 
opposition was weak, and at one stroke two hundred and forty- 
five electoral votes were given for Franklin Pierce, and again 
Democracy was enthroned at the helm of State. 

Questions. — Who was elected Governor in 1847? Give a 
sketch of him. 2. Who was elected Governor in 1849? Give a 
sketch of his life. 3. What of the Southern Convention i' 4. Give 
a sketch of William B. Campbell. 5. What occurred now? 




li f 



^m 






JUST BEFORE THE WAR. 



107 



Wh}'? 6. What was understood? 7. What was "Wilniot's 
Proviso?" 8. What did the "Fugitive vSlave Law" provide? 
9. How did the South feel now? 10. How was Pierce's election 
considered? What University was established at Clarksville in 
1850. II. Give the substance of this section. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



JUST BEFORE THE WAR. 




1. In 1853, the candidates for 
Governor were Andrew Johnson, 
Democrat, and Gustavus A. Henry, 
Whig. They were both influential 
men, whom the people could trust. 
Johnson had risen from abject pov- 
erty until he was now regarded as 
one of the State's best men. In 
this canvass he advocated changes 
in the United States Constitution. 
He was elected Governor in 1853 
and again in 1855, defeating M. P. 
Gentry, Whig, in the second contest. 

2. Andrew Johnson was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, 
December 29, 1808. He moved to (xreenville, Tennessee, in 
May, 1826, and was an alderman of that city from 1828 to 1830, 
when he became its mayor. In 1835, he was elected to the 
Legislature, and again in 1839. In 1840, he was a Van Buren 
elector and, in 1841, was sent to the State Senate. In 1843, he 
was elected to Congress, where he remained for ten successive 
years. In March, 1862, he was appointed Military Governor of 
Tennessee. He was nominated by the Republicans, in 1864, for 



GOV 



ANDREW JOHNSON. 



I08 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

\^ice-President, and was elected. When Lincoln died, April 15, 
1865, Johnson became President. Because of disputes with Con- 
gress, he was impeached, but not convicted. After the expira- 
tion of his Presidential term, Tennessee elected him to the United 
States Senate, where he served one term. He died Juh' 31, 

3. In 1855, the national Whig party was hopelessly divided 
on slavery. About this time the American party began to 
organize. This part}" favored a change in the naturalization 
laws, making it more difficult for foreigners to become American 
citizens, and to oppose the election of foreign-born citizens to 
office. On account of the seeming ignorance of all issues b}" its 
leaders, it was stigmatized the "Know-Nothing" part3^ and it 
supported Gentry in his race for Governor. In the first cam- 
paign, Johnson's issue was that the basis of representation should 
be white votes, without regard to slavery. When war became 
inevitable, and all the Southern Senators were resigning, John- 
son held his position — the only Southern Senator who did not 
resign. At this time Johnson was a strong Union Democrat. 

4. The Democrats, in 1856, carried Tennessee, the first time 
since Jackson's day. Slavery was now the great issue. In 
1854, the Kansas-Nebraska act became a law, which asserted 
that Congress had no right to pass the Missouri Compromise of 
1820, and that any State north of the line 36^2° had a right, 
irrespective of the act, to determine whether it would permit the 
ownership of slaves. This excited great indignation in the 
North, from which events were precipitated that resulted in the 
war. 

5. In 1856, the Whigs made no nomination and that party 
passed out of existence. The Know-Nothing partv nominated 
Millard Fillmore, of New York, for President, and A. J. Donel- 
son, of Tennessee, for Vice-President. The Democrats nominated 
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, and J. C. Breckinridge, of 
Kentucky, who were elected. 



JUST BEFORE THE WAR. 



109 



Johnson's 
and elected 




6. In each campaign slavery was the leading issue. 
term having expired, the Democrats nominated 
Isham G. Harris, Governor, who 
served from 1857 to 1S65. Isham 
G. Harris was born in Franklin 
count}^ Tennessee; was educated 
at the academy at Winchester; 
studied law, was admitted to the 
bar, and commenced to practice at 
Paris, Henry county, Tennessee, 
in 1 841; was elected to the State 
Legislature as a Democrat from the 
counties of Henry, Weakley, and 
Obion, in 1847; was a candidate for gov. isham g. Harris. 
Presidential Elector in the Ninth Congressional District of Ten- 
nessee on the Democratic ticket in 1848; was elected to Congress 
as a Democrat from the Ninth Congressional District in 1849; re- 
elected in 1 85 1, and nominated as the candidate of the Demo- 
cratic party in 1853, but declined the nomination; removed to 
Memphis, and there resumed the practice of his profession; was 
a Presidential Elector for the State at large in 1856; was elected 
Governor of Tennessee as a Democrat in 1857, re-elected in 1859, 
and again in 1861; was a Volunteer Aid upon the staff of the 
Commanding General of the Confederate Army of Tennessee for 
the last three years of the war; returned to the practice of law at 
Memphis in 1867, and was engaged in it when elected to the 
Ignited States Senate as a Democrat in 1877; and was re-elected 
to the Senate in 1883, 1889, and again in 1895. 

7. Under successful administrative Governors, Tennessee has 
grown rapidly in wealth and population. In 1850, the census was: 
seven hundred and fifty-six thousand eight hundred and thirty-six 
whites, and two hundred and forty-five thousand eight hundred 
and eighty-one slaves; a decade later we had eight hundred and 
twenty-six thousand seven hundred and twenty-two whites, and 



I ro THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

two hundred and eighty-three thousand and nineteen slaves or 
colored. Robert L. Caruthers was elected Governor in 1863, but 
on account of Tennessee being in possession of Federal troops, 
was unable to qualif}-. President Lincoln appointed Andrew^ 
Johnson, Military Governor, who served from 1862 to 1865. 

8. In i860, the situation was full of discouragement for those 
who loved the Union. The South now seemed determined to 
form a separate government, in w^hich the North would not be 
represented. The Southerners were sanguine that slavery as an 
institution was doomed by the North. 

9. John Brown made a raid into Virginia, in 1859, to arm the 
slaves and incite them to insurrection. This embittered the 
vSouth very much, notwithstanding he was hanged. It was the 
opinion of the people that he was a crank seeking notoriet^^ and 
who probably thought he would easily gain the friendship of an 
admiring North. 

10. The greatest of all civil wars has been fought with decisive 
results, and now^ there is no North, no South, no East, no West, 
but one great country, with the grandest record of the greatest 
achievements found in the annals of the world's history. These 
will immortalize us, and posterity will turn with interest to the 
annals and say, "How could it be?" In the hospitals, the sani- 
tary and the Christian commissions were unwearied in their 
great work of love and mercy among the sick. Once in the hos- 
pital, no one asked on which side he had fought, but tender 
hands ministered to his needs and soothed his sufferings, whether 
he wore the "blue" or the "gray." 

Questions. — i. Who were the candidates for Governor in 
1853? 2. Give a sketch of Johnson's life. 3. What of parties 
now? Leading issue? 4. Give the substance of this section. 
5. Name the several nominees. 6. Sketch the life of Isham G. 
Harris. 7. What of Tennessee's growth? Population? 8. What 
was the situation now? 9. What of John Brown's raid? 10. 
What is said of the Civil War? 



THE CIVIIv WAR. Ill 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE CIVIIv WAR. 

1. Governor Harris, on January 7, i<S6i, convened the General 
Assembl}', at Nashville, in extra session, and in his message 
urgently placed before the Legislature the perilous condition of 
affairs then existing. Among the first acts was one to provide 
for an election of delegates to a convention, and to repeal the 
act abolishing military duty. Messrs. L- P. Walker, of Ala- 
bama, and T. J. Wharton, of Mississippi, were invited to address 
the Legislature. Provisions were made for the election of dele- 
gates to the General Convention of the Southern States. 

2. On April 10, President Lincoln issued a proclamation call- 
ing for seventy-five thousand men to suppress the resistance to 
national authority. The Secretary of War telegraphed Governor 
Harris for men, to whom Harris replied: "Tennessee will not 
furnish a single man for coercion, but fifty thousand, if neces- 
sary, for the defense of our rights, or those of our Southern 
brothers." President Lincoln made requisition for men from 
Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia. 
The Governors of these States replied in the negative, which 
demonstrated their positions in this impending catastrophe. 

3. The Secession Convention was voted for as follows: For 
convention, fifty-seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight; 
no convention, sixty-nine thousand six hundred and seventy-five. 
Votes for division delegate, twenty-four thousand seven hundred 
and forty-nine; for Union delegates, eighty-eight thousand eight 
hundred and three. The business and interests of the State were 
so imperiled that Governor Harris called the Legislature to meet 
again in extra session on April 25. He recommended the per- 
fecting of an ordinance declaring the independence of Tennessee 
of the F'ederal l^nion, and the admission of this State into the 
Confederacy. An ordinance secession was passed May 6, and 



112 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

June 8, the State voted one hundred and four thousand nine 
hundred and thirteen for secession, and forty-seven thousand 
two hundred and thirty-eight against it. The Legislature, on 
May I , authorized the Governor to enter into a military league 
with the Confederacy. 

4. Three Commissioners, Gustavus A. Henry, A. O. W. 
Totten, and Washington Barrow, were appointed for that pur- 
pose. The people overwhelmingly opposed secession, but 
Governor Harris was an outspoken secessionist. When the 
Secession Convention was defeated, it was hoped that Tennessee 
would remain loyal to the Union. At Fort Sumter, South Caro- 
lina, on April 12, the first gun of one of the greatest of civil wars 
was fired. When Lincoln w^as inaugurated, the Confederates 
held all the forts in their territory but Sumter and Pickens. 
When the people from Middle and West Tennessee heard of the 
bombardment of Fort Sumter, the secession inclination became 
irresistible, and they enthusiastically demanded immediate ad- 
mission into the Confederacy. 

5. On May 7, these Commissioners met H. W. Hilliard, the 
accredited representative of the Confederacy, and perfected this 
league, and the Legislature on the same day ratified it. The 
following acts were passed: To raise and equip a provisional 
force of fifty-five thousand volunteers and appropriated five mil- 
lion dollars to equip them; to submit to a popular vote an ordi- 
nance to adopt the Constitution of the Confederate States; to 
regulate the pay of officers and men; and one to authorize the 
banks of Tennessee to receive and pay out Confederate treasury 
notes. 

6. May 21, i85[, the Confederate Capitol was transferred to 
Richmond, Virginia. At its first session, after its removal, the 
Confederate Congress asked for volunteers and passed an act 
enlisting soldiers for the army. The South made an enthusiastic 
response to this call, Tennessee contributing the flower of her 
vouth and manhood to swell the Southern army. Gladly did 



THE CIVIL WAR. 113 

they enlist and nobly did they fight for a cause which they had 
learned to love and willingly to espouse. 

7. How could the war have been avoided? Its seeds were 
planted in conditions that existed before the Revolutionary war. 
They were recognized and pointed out by the franiers of the 
Constitution, but even their wisdom could only postpone the 
evil, but could not find a remedy. These elements of discord 
cropped out in every stage of our growth, and gave birth to 
parties and sectional divisions. They arrayed State and National 
governments against each other, and ripened into open warfare 
free and slave institutions. It w^as beyond the power of poor, 
frail human wisdom and forbearance to peacefully reconcile these 
opposing elements into a harmonious union. A peaceful volun- 
tary separation would have been a hollow truce and only an in- 
citement to a greater war. It would have sanctioned the doctrine 
of despotism, that republics were only born to die. If war was 
to come it was better that it came w^hen it did, when the recol- 
lections of a common but glorious history and the ties of a com- 
mon origin, language, and religion, and the wonderful growth 
and development of a great country by the common efforts of 
both North and South were the mystic cords that still held us 
together and pleaded for union in spite of slavery and opposing 
views of State and National authority. 

8. The war came, in which both sides proved their courage 
and endurance. In spite of the fearful loss of life and property, 
of the great pension rolls, of the wounded and disabled, and of 
widows and orphans, we can all agree, without passion or irrita- 
tion, that the civil war has secured to the innumerable throng 
that will follow^ us the blessings of a stronger government than 
was possible before, freed from the grave contentions of the past. 
The people of every State and section and class will in due time 
have their full share of these benefits. We may now all hope for 
a perpetual union of indestructible States, in which the people, 
all free, are the source of all power, whether exercised in the 



114 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

smallest school district or municipality, or in the numerous 
States, old and new, or in a Federal government of limited but 
ample powers over the better part of a continent. Let us hope 
also that this kindly appreciation of the merits of the great actors 
in our Civil War, whether on the Union or Confederate side, 
may be continued and expressed until the last one has met the 
common foe, when a new generation may impartially cherish a 
just pride in the courage and heroism of their ancestors, and 
expend their energy in the peaceful development of a free and 
great Republic committed to their care. 

9. The people in South Carolina, as in other Southern States, 
believed the North was determined to liberate their slaves. This 
necessarily created much uneasiness and discontent. On De- 
cember 20, a convention met in Charleston, in "Secession Hall," 
and unanimously voted "that the Union now subsisting between 
South Carolina and other States, under the name of the United 
States of America, is hereb}^ dissolved." Its citizens believed 
that the Union was broken up and that South Carolina had now, 
as its Governor said, become a "free and independent State." 
Two governments in peace were better than one in discord. 
This ordinance abolished the ordinance of May 23, 1788, which 
ratified the Constitution. 

10. In the meantime, the Thirty-Ninth Congress convened, and 
Buchanan said in his message: (i) that no State could with- 
draw from the Union, and (2) that there was no power to coerce 
or force a State. He suggested concession and conciliation. 
Northern sentiment assumed two courses: one for Union and 
coercion, and one demanded no coercion. The South had two 
ideas also. One was that South Carolina was too hasty, the 
other was "no coercion." Upon the latter idea the South was 
almost unanimous. 

11. The secession of other States followed rapidly, and ere the 
ist of February, 1861, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, 
Louisiana, and Texas, had withdrawn from the Union, which 



THE CIVIL WAR. 115 

created the most intense excitement. The vSouthern States 
were sanguine of their rights and hoped to keep them incontest- 
able. 

12. A compromise was offered by J. J. Crittenden, of Ken- 
tucky, as follows: that a Constitutional amendment be drawn, 
making the parallel 36° 30' the line between the free and slave 
States. From all parts of the nation petitions were sent to Con- 
gress pleading for the adoption of this compromise, but as the 
Republicans refused to stand by this sentiment, the last hope 
vanished. Strong efforts were made in the South to have seces- 
sion deferred, but they were futile. 

13. On February 4, 1861, delegates from all these States but 
Texas, and they arrived later, met at Montgomery, Alabama, 
framed a government and adopted the appellation, "Confederate 
States of America," with Montgomery as the Capitol. They 
elected Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, President, and Alexander 
H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President. In March, this gov- 
ernment was made permanent. Its Constitution was modeled 
after the Constitution of the United States. 

Questions.— I. What did the Charleston Convention create? 
Why? 2. What was the object of the "Constitutional Union" 
party? Did it do it? Of whom composed? 3. Where did the 
conventions meet and whom did they nominate ? What divis- 
ions? Feeling? 4. Give the substance of this section. 5. What 
did the Commissioners do? What acts were passed? 6. Where 
was the Confederate Capitol located? What did the Confederate 
Congress ask for? 7. What did the South think? Could the 
war have been avoided? 8. Give reasons for thus thinking. 9. 
What occurred in "Secession Hall?" When? May 22,} 10. 
What did President Buchanan suggest ? Whv? Southern ideas? 
II. What other States seceded? When? 12. Who offered a 
compromise? What was it? Did it pass? Why? 13. What 
occurred February 4, 1861 ? Who were elected officers? What 
of the Constitution ? 



Il6 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE CIVIL WAR — CONTINUED. 

1. The action of the Charleston Convention created intense 
excitement in the South, and the feeling became very general 
that a dissolution of the Union was impending. To prevent this, 
if possible, the "Constitutional Union" party was organized. 
This party nominated, in convention in Baltimore, John Bell, of 
Tennessee, for President, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, 
for Vice-President. 

2. This party adopted no platform, its mission being concilia- 
tory, hoping to unite both sections of the country, and thus avert 
the threatened dissolution. This new but vigorous party obtained 
many recruits from the ranks of the older organizations, espe- 
cially in the South. The Whig party being almost extinct, 
many of its members joined the Union party and earnestly 
pleaded for a preservation of the ITnion. 

3. The Richmond Convention met only to adjourn till after 
the Baltimore Convention, which split into two distinct bodies, 
each nominating a Presidential ticket, a disastrous mistake and 
one fatal to the South. One faction of the party nominated John 
C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, for President, and Joseph Lane, 
of Oregon, for Vice-President; the other nominated Stephen A. 
Douglass, of Illinois, for President, and Herschel V. Johnson, of 
Georgia, for Vice-President. 

4. The Republicans met at Chicago, and nominated Abraham 
Lincoln, of Illinois, for President, and Hannibal Hamlin, of 
Maine, for Vice-President. The campaign this year was in- 
tensely interesting. Long processions of enthusiastic party 
admirers paraded frequently, and each party made a vigorous 
effort for victory. Tennessee gave the following vote: For John 
Bell, sixty-nine thousand two hundred and seventy-four; John 
C. Breckinridge, sixty-four thousand seven hundred and nine; 



THE CIVIL WAR. 117 

Stephen A. Douglas, eleven thousand three hundred and fift}-; 
Abraham Lincoln, none. In view of these divisions, the Repub- 
lican party sprang from infancy into a gigantic part}-, and elected 
its ticket b}^ an overwhelming majorit}-. Only one issue was 
before the people in the campaign, that of slavery, and Lincoln's 
election was purely sectional. When the result was ascertained, 
the forebodings showed fated war. 

5. The election of the Republican ticket was not a surprise, but 
it disgusted the Southern leaders. The South loved the Union, 
for it was formulated by their forefathers, who always referred to 
the compact with pleasing interest. The Constitution was the 
supreme law of the land, and was always supported in the vSouth. 
Believing their interests imperiled, the Southern people began 
to look around for a remedy. 

6. The Legislature, on May 9, 1861 , confirmed a list of generals 
of various ranks, preparatory to the forthcoming contest. All 
this while East Tennessee, aided by Brownlow, the Whig, and 
Johnson, the Democrat, made a united effort to remain loyal to 
the Union. Nowhere has the light of devotion to human freedom 
burned more luminously than in the mountains of East Ten- 
nessee. The vigorous Scotch settlers of that historic section 
carried with them the same detestation of slavery and reverence 
for the rights of man that distinguished their ancestors in the 
highlands beyond the sea. 

7. A very large part of the people of East Tennessee remained 
loyal to the Union throughout the civil war, and sent many 
soldiers to the Federal army. They were fighting men. these 
hardy mountaineers, and they never learned what it was to be 
decisively and enduringly beaten. 

8. A Union Convention met at Knoxville on May 30, 1861, and 
memorialized the Legislature to remain loyal, but this convention 
was powerless to effect the desired object. It elected T. A. R. 
Nelson, President, and John M. Fleming, Secretary. It passed 
resolutions urging the formation of a new State, and declaring 



Il8 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

its fealty to the ITnioti, aiter which it adjourned to meet at 
Greenville, June 17, 1861, but its plan never materialized. 

9. Governor Harris issued his formal proclamation, June 24, 
1 86 1, dissolving the tie that had hitherto bound Tennessee to the 
United States of America, and, on August i, an election was 
held to elect Representatives to the Confederate Congress. Little 
of importance occurred this year in the civil history of this State. 
To a limited extent battles will be noticed outside the State of 
Tennessee. 

10. On July 21, the main armies of the North and South met 
in battle array on the plains of Manassas in Virginia. The 
signal defeat, the total rout, and the wild, disorderly flight of the 
Union forces back towards Washington , was the result. This news 
electrified the country. Neither side could honorably recede or 
compromise now. The North, humiliated with defeat, must 
retrieve her honor and her fortune; the South, elated with vic- 
tory, would listen to nothing but a severance of the Union, 
which the North would never admit. The sj^mpathizers of either 
side in Tennessee began to flock to the faction which they hoped 
would succeed. It was in the battle of Manassas that General 
T. J. Jackson received the famous appellation, "Stonewall," 
given by General Bee, who was rallying his men for a desperate 
charge. "Look at General Jackson! He is standing like a stone 
wall." 

11. A large number of arms and prisoners were cap- 
tured in this battle, the result of which was to establish the 
Confederacy more strongly than ever in public confidence. The 
Confederates lost two thousand men, the Federals three thous- 
and. Many Tennessee troops were engaged in this battle, bear- 
ing themselves while exposed to the deadliest fire of the 
Federalists with unflinching courage. 

12. Kentucky tried to remain neutral, but neutrality was 
impossible in a State centrally located, and a force soon overran 
it and a plan was materialized to augment the Union army 



THE CIVIL WAR. II9 

and organize its forces. A large Confederate force under General 
Polk occupied and fortified Hickman and Columbus, K}-., on 
September 3, 1861. Two days later, the Federal army in force 
occupied Paducah and other points in Kentucky. On November 
6, General Grant, with a land and naval force, left Cairo to 
attack General Pillow. A severe battle ensued at Belmont, 
Missouri, nearl}^ opposite Columbus, resulting in a repulse of 
the Federal forces with a loss of one thousand men killed, 
wounded or taken prisoners. The Confederates lost six hundred 
and forty. 

13. Tennessee was the battle ground for both armies. ITpon 
its soil were fought four hundred and eight battles and 
skirmishes, many of which figured conspicuously and were 
keenly contested. General A. S. Johnson had headquarters at 
Bowling Green, and sent out detachments of troops to the fortified 
points of Hopkinsville, Forts Donelson and Henr\', and Colum- 
bus, on the west, and Cumberland Ford on the east. General 
Buell was in chief command of the Federal army, now increased 
to seventy-five thousand men, and menacing the Southern army 
at ever}' point. Both sides were busy in recruiting men and in 
supplying arms and munitions of war. 

14. The distresses and horrors of war were now widespread 
over the land. Families w^ere divided in feelings and sentiment. 
Very often the father enlisted on one side, his sons on the other. 
The closest ties and social influences seemed powerless to hold 
some families together. Under military rule, w^hich heeded not 
civil or moral law, all the furies of malice, revenge, hatred and 
violence were let loose upon our State. The klu-klux and 
guerrillas did much lawdessness. 

15. The battle of Mill Springs occurred January 19. 1862, and 
was a severe blow to the Southern army. In September. 1861. 
General Johnston had sent Zollicoffer through Cumberland Gap 
into Kentucky. After many skirmishes, Zollicoffer fell back to 
Mill Springs, on the Cumberland, and thence cros.sed the river 



I20 



THE HISTORY OP TENNESSEE. 



to Beech Grove, which he fortified. At this place he was met 
by General Thomas. In the march to meet Thomas he was 
repulsed. It was in this battle that General Zollicoffer, second 
in command of the Confederate forces, was killed by a pistol shot 
fired by Colonel Speed S. Fry. The Federals being heavily re- 
enforced, the Confederates were defeated and driven back, 
retreating into Tennessee. The killed and wounded on each 
side were over three hundred. This left General Johnston with- 
out support on his right from Bowling Green to Cumberland 
Gap. Now an invasion of Tennessee from this quarter was open 
to the Federal army under General G. H. Thomas, who had 
about four thousand men. The Confederate commander, General 
G. B. Crittenden, had about the same number. 

1 6. Forts Henry and Donelson were strong Confederate posi- 
tions, and were within twelve miles of each other. The former 

was on the Tennessee River, the latter 
on the Cumberland, just below Dover. 
The Union gun-boats under Foote 
moved up the Tennessee, and after 
an hour's engagement, on February 
6, 1862, captured Fort Henry. In the 
meantime, many of the Confederate 
troops had been transferred to Fort 
Donelson. General Grant then moved 
up the Cumberland, and in conjunc- 
tion with the gun-boats, on February 
12, invested Fort Donelson. The 
first da3^'s fighting was desperate, 
and after three days, General Buck- 
ner surrendered. It was at this place that Grant obtained his first 
distinction. John B. Floyd, of Virginia, was in command, but 
Buckner, of Kentucky, Pillow, of Tennessee, who brought ten 
thousand men from Nashville, February 9, and N. B. Forrest, 
were present. The fort was completely surrounded b}' the Fed- 




THE CIVIL WAR. 121 

erals, making the escape of many impossible. Forrest, Pillow 
and Flo5^d escaped, leaving Buckner in command, who soon 
surrendered. 

17. Nashville now lay open to the approach of the Federal 
arm}^ by land and river, and over one hundred and twenty-six 
pieces of artillery were moved southward b}- General Buell. On 
February 25 , 1 862 , the Federals entered Nashville. Bowling Green 
had been evacuated on the 14th, and the stronghold of CDlumbus 
was abandoned by General Polk, at the advance of the victors. 
General Johnston, in retreat through the mid-winter storms of 
wind and ice, pa.ssed through Nashville in advance of the Fed- 
erals, and thence to Murfreesboro, where General Crittenden's 
forces joined him. The two armies moved southward to meet 
soon on the plains of Shiloh. 

18. The battle of Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, was a ver}^ 
important one. After the Federal troops captured Nashville, 
and after the retreat of the Confederates, the Federals concentrated 
their forces at Savannah, on the Tennessee, and the Confederates 
at Corinth, Mississippi. The Federals, in March, 1862, drove 
away a Confederate batter}- which had been stationed at Pitts- 
burg Landing. On March 24, Johnston arrived at Corinth from 
Murfreesboro, General Buell was on the way from Nashville, and 
Johnston was anxious to attack Grant before Buell's arrival. 
From Corinth he marched towards Pittsburg Landing. 

19. Sunda3\ April 6, 1862, the opposing armies met at Shiloh, a 
short distance from Pittsburg Landing. When night came the 
Confederates had the advantage, but they had lost General John- 
ston in the battle. General Beauregard commanded the Con- 
federates the next day, who were defeated and fell back to 
Corinth, where the}' were re-enforced. Finding the Federals 
too strong, on Aprir3o, they evacuated Corinth. P'ort Pillow 
was abandoned, June i. Commander Davis moved the Federal 
fleet, consisting of nine gun-boats, four of which were rams com- 
manded by Colonel Charles Ellett, Jr. , down the Mississippi, 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



123 




h^^ 



PRES. LINCOLN, U. S. A. 



and ill a fight in front of Memphis, on June 9, destroyed the 
Confederate fleet and captured the city. The Confederate loss 
in the battle at Shiloh was eleven thous- 
and, the Federal loss fourteen thousand. 
The arrival of Buell saved the Army of 
Tennessee from utter rout. Johnston's 
death was disastrous to the Confederate 
success in the West. 

20. On March 6, 1862, President Lin- 
coln issued a proposal "that the United 
States ought to co-operate with any State 
which may adopt a gradual abolishment 
of slavery, giving to such State money to 
be used to pay for losses or injuries f.-om 
such change of systems." No one in 
Tennessee would accept money for 
slaves freed, at that time, owing to a feeling of pride, princi- 
ple or other motive. The slaves of Tennessee were valued at 
man}^ millions of dollars, the loss of which necessarih^ involved 
the slave-holders, and from which it took many 5^ears to re- 
cover. 

21. Island Number Ten was surrendered on the same day that 
Corinth was evacuated, and the Confederates lost their strongest 
fortification in the Mississippi River. For twent3'-four da3's the 
garrison had withstood a severe bombardment. Fort Pillow was 
evacuated, and Memphis, having no protection, was easily cap- 
tured by the Federals. This gave the latter control of the Mis- 
sissippi River from Vick.sburg north. 

22. The two armies were now on the defensive. After the fall 
of New Orleans, the armies decided to again invade Kentuck}- 
and Tennessee. At Corinth, the Confederate arm}^ was in com- 
mand of General Bragg, supported by Generals Polk, Hardee, 
Breckinridge, and Price. The Union army was in command 
of General Buell, aided by Generals Grant, Thomas, Sherman, 



124 



THE HISTORY OF TBNNESSEK. 



Pope, Sheridan, and Rosecrans. On Ma}' 29, when Buell's army 
approached, the Confederates withdrew to Tnpelo, and the Union 
army occupied Corinth. Both armies now 
divided their forces. Buell and Thomas 
entered Tennessee, going to the northeast, 
while Bragg with a force pursued him. He 
then conceived the idea of threatening Ken- 
tucky to relieve Tennessee. 

23. At Murfreesboro, two battles were 
fought between Rosecrans, who succeeded 
Buell, and Bragg. On December 31, the 
right wing of the Union army was shattered, 
and the whole army almost defeated. In 
the night, Rosecrans rallied his men and 
was ready for battle New Year's day, but 
no engagement then occurred. On January 2, Bragg made an 
heroic charge, which was met with dogged resistance, but he 
withdrew in good order. Generals Breckinridge and Sheridan 
were especially distinguished in these battles. 




PRES. DAVIS, C.S.A. 



Questions. — i. What did the Charleston Convention do? 
2. What was its object? Did it succeed? 3. What of the Rich- 
mond Convention? 4. What of the Republicans? Who were 
ielected? 5. What of the South and the Constitution? 6. Give 
the substance of this section. 7. What of East Tennessee? 
8. What was the object of the Union Convention? 9. What did 
Governor Harris do? 10. Describe the battle of Manassas. 
II. Give its results. 12. What did Kentucky endeavor to do? 
Why? 13. What of battles in Tennessee? 14. Give the sub- 
stance of this section. 15. What of the battle of Mill Springs? 
16. Give the substance of this section. 17. What of the armies 
now? 18. What can you say of the battle of Shiloh or Pitts- 
burg Landing? 19. Whom did the Confederates lose? What 
of Charles P^llett, Jr. 20. What of President Lincoln's pro- 
posal? 21. When did Island Number Ten surrender? Where 
is it? 22. What of the two armies? Who were in command? 
23. Describe the battles at Murfreesboro. 



THK CIVIL WAR. 125 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE CIVIL WAR — CONTINUED. 

1. February 22, 1862, General Grant put West Tennessee 
under martial law. When Governor Harris heard of the capture 
of Fort Donelson, he convened the Legislature in extra session 
at Nashville, whence it adjourned to Memphis. The civil and 
military authority were merged and, on March 3, Andrew John- 
son was commissioned Military Governor and took charge on 
March 12. He requested the city ofhcials at Nashville to take 
an oath of allegiance, which they refused to do, and he deposed 
them. He was untiring in his efforts to restore Tennessee to the 
Union. Johnson required the rich citizens of Nashville to con- 
tribute aid for the support of the poor. 

2. General Buell, after the capture of Nashville, in February, 
1862, tried to seize and hold Middle and East Tennessee. He 
sent General Mitchel to hold the territory between Chattanooga 
and Huntsville, Alabama. By well executed plans, G. W. 
Morgan obtained possession of Cumberland Gap. When the 
Confederates evacuated Corinth, Beauregard was superseded by 
Bragg, who aimed to reach Chattanooga and re-organize his 
men. Buell, then at Nashville, decided to seize Chattanooga. 
The Confederates reached that city first, in June. In Jul3% For- 
rest, with about two thousand men, left Chattanooga, and, on 
July 13, was at Murfreesboro. Unsuccessful skirmishes ensued, 
and his officers advised him to retreat, but by shrewd military 
tactics he captured one thousand and seven hundred Federals, 
and stores and supplies worth about one million dollars. Soon 
a large body of Federals approached, and he retreated to Mc- 
Minnville, and then by circuitous marches joined Bragg at Chat- 
tanooga. Buell now collected his forces at Murfreesboro, and 
after Bragg invaded Kentucky, Buell met and defeated him at 



126 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

Perryville. Bragg returned to Tennessee, and Rosecrans super- 
seded Buell. 

3. Bragg gathered his forces at Murfreesboro. Rosecrans was 
now at Nashville and decided to attack Bragg at once. On 
December 26, 1862, he advanced on Bragg, who moved out of 
Murfreesboro to the bank of Stone's River. The armies met, 
December 31, and the Confederates were successful in the first 
conflict, but ultimately they were overpowered and repulsed. 
The battle of Stone's River lasted two days. Bragg retreated to 
Shelbyville and Tullahoma for headquarters, which places he 
fortified. Subsequently, near Thompson's Station, Forrest cap- 
tured Coburn and his force of over two thousand men. 

4. Bragg was still at Shelbyville and Tullahoma, when, on 
June 2T^, 1863, Rosecrans moved from Nashville to attack him. 
On June 27, after a few skirmishes, Manchester was taken by the 
Federals. Bragg made a successful retreat to Chattanooga. 
Rosecrans drove Bragg out of the territory, and a bloodless vic- 
tory was the result. It gave the Federals control of Middle 
Tennessee. At Stevenson, Alabama, Rosecrans collected sup- 
plies and forces to attack Bragg at Chattanooga, which com- 
manded the means of approach from the north to the southwest. 

5. Buckner was at Knoxville, but Burnside forced him to 
retreat to Loudon, thence by way of Charleston to Chattanooga. 
Opposite Chattanooga, on the bank of the Tennessee, August 20, 
appeared several Union batteries, which surprised Bragg, who 
at once evacuated Chattanooga to escape from being surrounded, 
and withdrew to Lafayette, Georgia. Rosecrans left Nashville, 
August 16, and after having crossed the Tennessee, entered 
Chattanooga on September 9, but both armies were preparing for 
the final possession of that city. Lafayette was about twenty 
miles from Chattanooga. Rosecrans concentrated his forces in 
the Chickamauga Valley, about half-way between the two towns. 
Meantime, Bragg was re-enforced by troops from Virginia and 
Mississippi. 



THB CIVIL WAR. 



127 



6. The battle of Chickamauga began September 18 and lasted 
nntil the 21st. At first the Confederates were successful, and 
Rosecrans fell back to Chattanooga in confusion. The Federal 
retreat to Chattanooga gave them a better prospect of holding it. 
Bragg had lost many men, but he moved upon the city and 
almost surrounded it. On October 16, Thomas succeeded Rose- 
crans. The siege of the city lasted until November i, when 
communication was restored by way of Kelly's Ferry. In the 
meantime, Bragg had fortified his positions on Lookout Moun- 
tain and Missionarv Ridge. 







^-.,, 




BATTLE OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. 



7. Grant came from :\Iississippi to lead the Federals in these 
battles. On November 23, he forced Bragg from his positions, 
and now Chattanooga was completely in the possession of the 
Federals. After the battle at Chickamauga, Bragg sent Long- 
street into Fast Tennessee to oppose Burnside at Knoxville, 
where the Federals were quiet until Sherman could relieve them. 
Longstreet attacked him but was repulsed. When Sherman 
approached, Longstreet went to Morristown, wjiere he wintered. 



128 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

In the Spring he joined Lee in Virginia. Bragg 's army retreated 
into Georgia, where Joseph E. Johnson superseded him, and 
Johnson, just before the battle of Atlanta, was superseded by Hood. 

8. 1x1 September, 1864, Atlanta was taken, after which the 
Confederates determined to again invade Tennessee. Forrest 
came to Middle Tennessee and captured a body of Federal troops 
at Pulaski, but was compelled to retreat across the Tennessee 
into Alabama. He soon made a raid through West Tennessee. 
Hood returned to Tennessee and, November 21, entered Middle 
Tennessee for the purpose of capturing Columbia. Finding 
that Schofield was occupying it, he marched around that town 
towards Franklin. On November 30, the battle of Franklin was 
fought, which was perhaps the bloodiest of all the engage- 
ments that occurred in the State. The Federals had taken and 
partially fortified it before Hood arrived. A hard fought battle 
ensued, after which the Federals withdrew, but the Confederates 
were badly disabled. General Pat Cleburne was killed in this 
fight. 

9. From Franklin, Hood went to Nashville, which city the 
Federals had so strongly fortified that the Confederates had little 
hope of capturing it. General Bate was sent to destroy the rail- 
road between Nashville and Murfreesboro. Skirmishes ensued. 
General Bate joined Forrest and they attacked Murfreesboro, but 
were repulsed. General Bate then joined Hood, and Forrest 
was east of Nashville waging a campaign. Hood was defeated 
and withdrew into Mississippi. Now the Confederacy was split 
in twain, defeat after defeat followed, until at Appomattox Court 
House in Virginia, April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered, and this 
great war was over. The Army of Tennessee, Confederate States 
of America, under Joseph E. Johnson, surrendered at Greens- 
l)oro. North Carolina, April 26, 1865; the cavalry force of 
Lieutenant-General N. B. Forrest, under General Dick Taylor, 
surrendered at Meridian, Mississi<^pi, May 4, and General E. 
Kirbv Smith surrendered, Mav 26. 



THE CIVIIv WAR. 129 

10. Tennessee furnished the following ofhcers to the Confed- 
erate army: Lieutenant-Generals — N. B. Forrest and A. P. 
Stewart. Major-Generals— W. B. Bate, John C. Brown, B. F. 
Cheatham, W. Y. C. Humes, B. R. Johnson, J. P. McCowan, 
and C. C. Wilcox. Brigadier-Generals— John Adams, S. R. 
Anderson, Frank Armstrong, T. B. Bell, A. W. Campbell, W. 
H. Carroll, J. E. Carter, H. B. Davidson, W. G. M. Davis, 
G. G. Dibrell, D. S. Donelson, R. C. Foster, C. W. Frazier, 
G. W. Gordon, Robert Hatton, A. E. Jackson, W. H. Jackson, 
William McComb, George Maney, J. B. Palmer, G. J. Pillow, 
L. E. Polk, W. A. Quarles, J. E. Raines, Preston Smith, T. B. 
Smith, O. F. Strahl, James Starnes, John C. Vaughan, A. J. 
Vaughan, M. J. Wright, and F. K. Zollicoffer. Federal officers: 
S. P. Carter, J. A. Cooper, A. C. Gilleni, W. B. Campbell, 
Andrew^ Johnson, James Spears, J. P. Brownlow, George Spauld- 
ing, and W. J. Smith. 

11. Tennessee furnished eighty-six regiments of infantry, 
seventeen regiments of cavalry, twenty-seven battalions of 
cavalry, four partisan companies, and twenty battalions of artil- 
lery, a total of one hundred and six thousand men. In addition 
to this, it furnished to the Union army thirty-one thousand and 
ninety-two white men, and a number of negro regiments. The 
total number of Union troops in the war was tw^o million eight 
hundred and fifty-nine thousand one hundred and thirty-two. 
At no time did the Confederate army exceed six hundred thous- 
and men. 

12. A convention at Nashville, January 9, 1S65, adopted 
amendments to the Constitution abolishing slavery and repudi- 
ating the debt of the State contracted in aid of the rebellion. 
These amendments were ratified, February 22, by a vote of the 
people of twenty-five thousand two hundred and ninety-three for 
it, and forty-eight against it. 

Questions.— I. What did Grant do? Harris? Johnson^ 
2. What did Buell attempt? Result? 3. What did Bragg do? 



130 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

Rosecrans? Result? 4. Where was Bragg? Rosecrans? They 
met where? 5. Where was Buckner? What of Bragg and Rose- 
crans ? 6. When was the battle of Chickamauga fought ? Re- 
sult? 7. What of Grant and Bragg? Burnside? Johnston? 
8. When was Atlanta taken? What did the Confederates deter- 
mine? 9. What did the Confederates think about Nashville? 
Why. 10. Name a few Confederate officers. Union offi- 
cers. 1 1. What did Tennessee furnish to the armies? 12. What 
amendments were made to the Constitution ? 



CHAPTER XXIIL 



RECONSTRUCTION. 



1. History as a science can deal worthily only with that which 
has been removed by the lapse of time, and the sweep' of events, 
from the influence of personal prejudice, partisan considerations, 
and the biased judgment which come from the wrangling and 
jarring conflicts of political life. 

2. Those who have figured in scenes which are passed upon 
by the historian, and who still live in the activity of the present, 
are similar to those of wdiom Virgil sings. They wander restlessly 
upon the banks of the river vStyx, unable to cross until their 
bodies have received the last rites of sepulture in the earth 
above. 

3. After the war closed, it found Tennessee in a deplorable 
condition. East Tennessee did, as it considered, its whole duty 
to the Union. Middle and West Tennessee did their duty, as 
they thought, to the Confederacy. It was a difference of honest 
opinion as to what was the best to be done in the premises. 

4. Tennessee furnished over one hundred thousand men to 
the Confederacy, and over thirty thousand, exclusive of negroes, 
to the Union. War was over, and now the breach must be 
healed. In property she had lost enormously, and had incurred 



RECONSTRUCTION. 13I 

an iininense debt; business was parahv.ed, and the people were 
despondent over the depreciation of the value of their lands. 

5. The Tennesseeans fought bravely and patiently for victory, 
but defesrt, crushing, humiliating defeat, came, and 3'et no peo- 
ple ever went more bravely to work to rebuild their fortunes and 
to repair the ruin of war. Peace was declared, but it was not 
the peace that a generous foe should give to a thoroughh' con- 
quered enemy. Adventurers, "carpet-baggers," and malignant 
men, came in droves, and by their meanness and petty exactions 
made the situation infinitely worse. Instead of trying to culti- 
vate good will, and to restore the confidence of the people in the 
United States Government, the very opposite was sought, and 
bitterness and hatred on both sides were the results. The people 
were so galled and oppressed by these tyrants that the "Recon- 
struction" period is regarded with almost as much horror as the 
war itself.* 

6. Congress passed Reconstruction Acts for the Confederate 
States. These States were under martial law, and occupied by 
the military forces of the United States Government. Provisional 
Governors were appointed in each of the Southern States, with 
instructions for the assembling of conventions composed of per- 
sons loyal to the United States Government, whose duty it 
should be to alter and amend the Constitutions of the several 
States. 

7. The Military Governor of Tennessee, Andrew Johnson, was 
powerless to operate the government until the State had complied 
with the requirements of Congress. He issued a proclamation, 
Januar}^ 26, 1864, ordering an election, March 5, for county 
officers. Many of the people refused to vote, and the election 
failed. A Union Convention met at Nashville, September 5, 
and nominated electors pledged to vote for the re-election of 
President Lincoln, and for the election of Johnson as Vice- 
President. Those voting were required to take an oath that 
thi/hii hi^ n citizens of Tennessee six months. 



132 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

8. This convention appointed a State executive committee, 
which issued a call to the people to meet at Nashville, January 9, 
1865, to nominate one hundred men to compose a Constitutional 
Convention. This convention met and adopted various amend- 
ments to the Constitution, and repealed many of the laws enacted 
by the secessionists, and finalh^ abolished slaver}-. February 
22, 1865, these amendments were submitted to a popular vote, 
and were adopted. 

9. On March 4, 1865, Legislative members were voted for, and 
William G. Brownlow was also elected Governor of Tennessee. 

William G. Brownlow was born in 
Wythe county, \Mrg'inia, August 29, 
1805. At eighteen years of age, he 
became an apprentice to a house- 
carpenter, but shorth' after entered 
the Methodist ministry as an itinerant 
preacher, and, in 1828, moved to 
Tennessee. In 1843, he ran against 
Andrew Johnson for Congress, but 
was defeated. He was always an 
ardent Union man, and was very 
GOV. \\M. G. BKO\\NLO\\. abusive in his denunciation of those 
who voted Tennessee out of the Union. In 1869, he was elected 
to the United vStates Senate, serving until 1875. At the close of 
his term he returned to Knoxville, where he died, April 29, 
1877. 

10. President Lincoln claimed that when the vSouthern States 
laid down their arms against the United States Government they 
would be recognized at once as members of the common Union. 
The Republican party in Congress now claimed that before these 
States should assume their old relations, they should be recon- 
structed. The men elected by the South under the President's 
policy were denied admittance to Congress, and the State govern- 
ments established by them were repudiated. 




RECONSTRUCTION. I33 

11. The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States had to be adopted by the States. This gave the 
negro certain civil rights, diminished the Congressional represen- 
tation of the Southern States, made the Confederate public debt 
unquestionable, forbade the pa3anent by any State of an}' of the 
Confederate debt, and made certain persons ineligible to office, 
l^pon this change of the Constitution the Southern States could 
not vote. The liberal policy of President Johnson subjected him 
to a trial of impeachment, but he was acquitted. 

12. Brownlow's administration was very odious. Under this 
administration the Franchise Act was passed. It required the 
county court clerk to regi.ster all voters, but the clerk was 
empowered to withhold a certificate of registration if he saw fit. 
The voter could not deposit his ballot without this certificate. 
In August the election was held, five different waN'S of granting 
certificates being used, three of which were declared illegal, 
which led to the rejection of the vote of twenty-nine counties. 
The total vote was sixty-one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
three, but it was reduced to thirty-nine thousand five hundred 
and nine. 

13. In January, 1S66, the Disfranchisement Act was passed, 
which in connection with the Franchise Act, gave the Governor 
almost unlimited power over elections. Xo one could vote who 
had borne arms for the Confederacy or held office under it. Other 
extreme measures were resorted to which made the dominant 
part}' offensive to the more conservative element. 

Questions. — i. Cxive the substance of this .section. 2. What 
can you say of present factors? 3. What was the condition of 
Tennessee at this time? 4. What part did Tennessee take? 
5. How did our soldiers fight? 6. Explain the Reconstruction 
Acts. Object. 7. Give the sub.stance of this section. 8. What 
did the convention do? 9. Sketch the life of William G. Brown- 
low. 10. What did President Lincoln claim? ir. What did 
the P'ourteenth Amendment guarantee ? 1 2. What of Brownlow's 
admini.stration? What of Franchi.se and Disfranchisement Acts? 



134 I'HE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

RETURN OF PEACE. 

1. July 4, 1866, an extra session of the Legislature was con- 
vened to ratif}' a certain amendment to the Federal Constitution. 
The State had returned to the Union, and her rights were sup- 
posed to be secure. Congress, in 1866, submitted to the States 
an amendment to the Constitution, giving the negro the right 
to vote, deprived those who had held Confederate offices from 
holding office until pardoned, and declared that the United States 
debt should be paid in full, and that the Confederate debt should 
never be paid. Tennessee objected to this but, in 1867, the 
franchise was extended to the negro. 

2. In 1867, the Governor's power over elections was increased, 
which the people viewed with apprehension. Brownlow was 
still Governor, and was nominated for re-election, August i. A 
convention of Conservatives met at Nashville and nominated 
Emerson Ethridge, a Whig, for Governor, but Brownlow, by his 
vStrong denunciation of his competitors, and the abuse of the 
Franchise Act, caused his opponents to retreat, and he was 
elected by over fifty thousand votes. 

3. Brownlow^ was extravagant. When the war began, the 
State debt was twenty million four hundred and eight thousand 
dollars, exclusive of the three million dollars voted in aid of the 
Confederacy. Much of this was issued to the Union Bank, the 
Bank of Tennessee, to buy the Hermitage, to build the Capitol, 
for the Agricultural Bureau, and to build turnpikes and rail- 
roads. The Legislature was vested with power, in 1852, and the 
power amended, in 1854, to issue bonds for the construction of 
railroads, etc. From April, 1866, to December, 1868, more than 
fourteen million dollars' worth of these bonds were issued to 
railroads and turnpikes. During the war the interest on the 



RKTURN OF PEACE. 



'35 



State debt and coupons had amounted to over seven million dol- 
lars, which had to be paid. 

4. The Confederacy had failed, but it had numerous sympa- 
thizers, who organized a secret oath-bound society throughout 
the South known as the "Ku Klux," whose brutality had to be 
suppressed by legislation. In July, 1868, Governor Brownlow 
convened the Legislature in extra session: it organized a militia 
called "The Tennessee State Guards." An act was passed 
authorizing the Governor, when deemed necessary, to declare 
martial law in any county, and protect it with troops. In 
February, 1869, he proclaimed martial law in (3verton, Madison, 
Jack.son, Giles, Maury, Gibson, Lawrence, Marshall and Hay- 
wood counties. 

5. In Februar}', 1869, Governor Brownlow was elected to the 
Ignited States vSenate, and D. W. C. vSenter, then Speaker of the 
Senate, became Governor to fill 
Brownlow 's unexpired term. 
The Democrats supported Sen- 
ter, and this weakened the Re- 
publican party, whose leaders 
met at Nashville, May 20, 1869, 
but could agree on no candidate. 
This Republican Convention 
had two factions; one nominated 
W. B. vStokes, and the other 
Senter, who was re-elected in 
August. D. \V. C. vSenter was 
born, March 26, 1834, i^^ ^'^c- 

^r- 4 XT i. 1 GOV. D. W. C. SEXTKR. 

Minn county. He represented 

Grainger county in the Legislature from 1857 to 1861. In 1865, 
he was elected State Senator, and again in 1867, when he was 
elected Speaker. His education was meager. He opposed seces- 
sion, but was a quiet man. 

6. In 1869, Ti])ton was elected Sui)erintendent of Public 




■^minmx-r^^ 



m::' 






<m- 




ST. LUKI-: S THEOLOGICAL HALL, UNIV^ERSITY OF THE SOUTH, SEWAXEE. 



RETURN OF PEACE. 



137 



Schools. For the first time since the war, the Democrats had a 
majority in the lyCgislature, which met October 4, 1869, and 
adjourned March 5, 1870. The Constitutional Convention met 
at Nashville, January 10, 1870, and adjourned February 23. On 
March 26, the present Constitution was ratified by ninety-eight 
thousand one hundred and twenty-eight for, and thirty-three 
thousand eight hundred and .seventy-two again.st it. In August, 
the Democrats elected the Supreme Judges. 

7. In September, the Democrats nominated John C. Brown for 
Governor, the Republicans nominating W. H. Wisener. The 
vote for Brown was sevent3'-eight 
thousand nine hundred and 
eighty-vSeven ; for Wisener, forty- 
one thousand and five hundred. 
With the a.scendenc3' of Democ- 
racy, the restoration of confi- 
dence came. The State debt A&IM^^^. k^ \ 
was the main i.ssue at this time. 
John C. Brown was born in 
Giles county, Januar}- 6, 1827; 
was admitted to the Pulaski bar 
in September, 1848: entered the 

Confederacy, May 17, 1 861, as ""-"^^^^:J^^^.;^^^^^^0^ 
Captain of a company-, after 
which he was Colonel of the gov. john c. brown. 

Third Tennes.see Infantry Regiment. He did good service for 
the Confederacy. He was President of the Constitutional Con- 
vention which framed our present Constitution. Brown served 
four years as Governor, after which he became connected with 
railroads. 

8. The agitation of State issues, in 1872, caused much con- 
fusion. The State was entitled to a Congressman-at-Large, and 
Andrew Johnson wanted the position. The Legislature had not 
divided the State into the neces.sary number of Congressional 




138 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



Districts. The Democrats nominated B. F. Cheatham, and the 
Repul^licans named Horace Maynard, who was elected, owing to 
the division on Johnson and Cheatham. 

9. Governor Brown convened the Legislature in extra session, 
March 12, 1872, and the State was apportioned into Congressional 
Districts. Ex-Governor William Trousdale died March 27, 1872. 
This 3^ear Tennessee was visited by cholera and yellow fever. 
On March 25, 1873, John M. Fleming was appointed State 
Superintendent of Public Schools. 

10. In the campaign of 1874, the State debt was the great 
issue. Much of this debt was fraudulent, which the people were 
in favor of repudiating, but the just debt they wanted to pay. 
There were eleven Democratic candidates for Governor, almost 
all of whom favored the full payment of this debt. The Demo- 
cratic Convention met at Nash- 
ville, August 19, and nominated 
James D. Porter. The Repub- 
lican Convention met at Chat- 
tanooga, vSeptember 16, and 
nominated Horace Maynard, 
who was overwhelmingly de- 
feated. 

1 1. James D. Porter was born 
at Paris, Tennessee, December 
7, 1828; was admitted to the bar 
in 1851, and was in the Legisla- 
ture in 1 859. He was Adjutant- 
General under General Pillow, 
at Memphis, and helped to or- 
ganize the Army of Tennessee. He was in many prominent 
battles. He was in the Constitutional Convention of 1870, and 
was that year elected Circuit Judge, but resigned in February, 
1874, and, in August, the Democrats nominated him for Gov- 
ernor. He was elected, and again in 1876. He has held many 




GOV. JAMES D. PORTER, 



RETURN OF PEACE. 1 39 

prominent offices. He was appointed Assistant vSecretary of 
State in March, 1885, resigning in 1887. President Cleveland, 
in his last administration, appointed him Minister to Peru, 
and later appointed him United States Attorney for East and 
Middle Tennessee, but the United States Senate refused to con- 
firm the nomination, and Charles D. Clarke, of Chattanooga, 
was appointed. 

12. In 1875, Horace Maynard was appointed Ihiited States- 
Minister to Turke}' and served till 1880. This year, Andrew 
Johnson was elected to the United States Senate, but died soon 
after taking his seat, and Governor Porter appointed I). M. Key, of 
Chattanooga, to succeed him. Mr. Ke\^ was given the position of 
Postmaster-General in Hayes' Cabinet in 1877. Key was promi- 
nent in the Confederate ami}-, and Ha3'es wanted to remove 
the feelings of distrust in the South and develop a condition of 
confidence. 

13. In 1875-76, the State could not pay the interest on its 
bonded indebtedness. The bondholders invited Governor Porter 
to appoint a commission to meet their representatives in New 
York for a conference. Accordingly, five citizens were commis- 
sioned to meet the representatives of the State's creditors. A 
heated agitation ensued. The plan of settlement recommended 
w^as that the State issue bonds for sixty per cent, of its indebted- 
ness, interest included, the coupons to be receivable for taxes, 
and the bonds to bear six per cent, interest. The measure was 
unpopular. An extra session of the Legislature was convened, 
in December, 1877, to consider this plan of settlement, but noth- 
ing was accomplished. 

14. In August, 1878, the Democratic party "opposed the repu- 
diation of the just indebtedness of the State," and favored an 
adjustment. Governor Porter favored paying the debt on a basis 
of sixty cents on the dollar, with six per cent, interest. The Re- 
publicans were opposed to the repudiation of the debt, and 
favored the bondholders' proposition. The Democrats nomi- 



I40 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 




iiated Albert S. Marks for Governor, the Republicans choosing 

Emerson Ethridge as their can- 
didate. Marks was elected. 
Albert S. Marks was born in 
Daviess count}^ Kentucky, Oc- 
tober i6, 1836. He was reared 
a farmer, and had few educa- 
tional advantages. He held sev- 
eral positions before the war. 
In May, 1861, he entered the 
Confederate army and was elect- 
ed Captain. He lost a leg at the 
battle of Murfreesboro. He re- 
sumed the practice of law at 
Winchester; in 1870, was elected 
Chancellor, and was re-elected. 
The Democrats, in 1878, nomi- 
nated and elected him Governor. He favored the settlement of 
the State debt on the "fifty and four" basis, which led to such 
divisions that he was not a candidate for re-election. 

15. The people of the State demanded some settlement of the 
State debt question. The Legislature, in 1879, adjusted the debt 
on this basis: Fifty cents on the dollar and four per cent, in- 
terest. This was acceptable to man}- of the bondholders, but 
when it was submitted to the people it was rejected. For 3^ears 
no interest on the bonded debt had been paid. Many had dif- 
ferent ideas about the propriety of these bonds. In June, 1880, 
the Democratic Convention met at Nashville, but could unite on 
no tangible compromise. A majorit}- favored "fifty and four." 
The minority bolted the convention. The Republicans opposed 
anything but the bondholders' proposition. 

16. The "fifty and four," or "State Credit" faction of the 
Democratic party, nominated John V. Wright for Governor; the 
Eow Tax element nominated S. F. Wilson, the Greenback 



GOV. albk:rt s. marks. 
without opposition, in 1878. 



RETURN OF PEACE. 



141 




parly nominated R. M. Edwards, and the Republicans 
nominated Alvin G. Hawkins, who 
was elected. Governor Hawkins was 
born in Bath county, Kentucky, De- 
cember 2, 1 82 1. His youth was spent 
on a farm, without the advantage of 
a good education. He removed to 
Maury county, Tennessee, in 1826, 
and thence to Carroll county. He 
was elected to the General Assembly 
in 1S53: was on the Bell and Everett 
electoral ticket, in i860; was elected 
to Congress as a Unionist, in 1862, 
but could not be seated. In 1864, he gov. alvin g. hawkins. 
was appointed District Attorney for the District of West Ten- 
nessee, but, in 1865, he resigned and was appointed to the 
Supreme Bench of the vState. In 1868, he resigned this position 
and went as Consul-General to Havana, but soon resigned. 
He was elected a Judge of the State Supreme Court, in 1869, but 
the Constitution of 1870 displaced him. The Republicans nom- 
inated and elected him Governor, in 1880. He again received 
the Republican nomination, in 1882, but was defeated. 

17. Now the Republicans had the power and they utilized it. 
The Legislature, April 5, 1881, passed an act adjusting the State 
debt at one hundred cents on the dollar with three per cent, 
interest. The coupons of the bonds the State would issue were 
to be made receivable for taxes. The issuance of the bonds was 
enjoined, and the Supreme Court decided it illegal. Governor 
Haw^kins convened the Legislature in extra session and passed 
an act to settle the debt at sixty cents on the dollar, with bonds 
bearing three per cent, interest for two years, four per cent, 
interest for the next two years, five percent, interest for the next 
two years, and six per cent, interest thereafter. Many of the 
bondholders refused this settlement. 



142 THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

iS. The Democratic Convention met in Jnne, 18S2, and de- 
cided in favor of paying the State debt proper in fnll, the rest 
at fifty cents on the dollar with three per cent, interest. It 
nominated William B. Bate for Governor, who was elected. 
The "State Credit" Democrats left this convention, declared for 
the same settlement the Republicans favored, and nominated 
Joseph H. Fussell for Governor. This faction of the party 
was called "Sky-Blues." The Greenback party nominated 
John R. Beasley for Governor. 

Questions. — i. Give the substance of this section. 2. Who 
was Governor? Whom did the Conservatives nominate? 3. 
What immense debt had been incurred? How? 4. What can 
you say about the "Ku Klux?" 5. What of Governor Brown? 
His successor? Others? 6. Give the substance of this section. 
7. Whom did the parties name for Governor? 8. Who were 
candidates? Who were elected? Why? 9. What did Brown 
do? Name the State Superintendent of Public Schools. 10. 
What was the great issue now ? 11. Give a sketch of the life of 
Governor Porter. 12. Give the substance of this section. 13. 
What was the condition of the State now? 14. Give a bio- 
graphical sketch of Governor Marks. 15. What did the Legis- 
lature now do? 16. Name the nominees and result of the elec- 
tion for Governor. Give a sketch of the life of Governor Haw- 
kins. 17. Give the substance of this section. i<S. What did 
the Democratic Convention of 1882 do? 



CHAPTER XXV 



the democratic party. 



I. William B. Bate was elected Governor, and the party that 
has posed as the friend of the poor from the dawn of its exist- 
ence, began active measures to ameliorate the crisis. Governor 
Bate urged the immediate adjustment of the State debt in accord- 



THE DE^IOCRATIC PARTY. 



143 



ance with the platform on which he was elected. Long debates 
ensued, but it was finally settled by the passage of the act by 
which this debt was adjusted. The vState debt proper was to be 
paid in full, minus the war interest. The rest of the debt 
was odious and was scaled to fifty cents on the dollar with three 
per cent, interest. 

2. William B. Bate was born near Castalian Springs, Ten- 
nessee; received an academic education; when quite a youth 
served as second clerk on a steam- 
boat between Nashville and New^ 
Orleans; served as a private in the 
Mexican war in Louisiana and 
Tennessee regiments; a year after 
returning from the Mexican war 
was elected to the Tennessee Legis- 
lature; graduated from the Lebanon 
Law School in 1852, and entered 
upon the practice of his profession 
at Gallatin; in 1854, ^^^^^ elected 
Attorne3^-General for the Nashville 
District for six years; during his gov. wili^iam b. bate. 
term of office he was nominated for Congress, but declined; was a 
Presidential Elector, in i860, on the Breckinridge-Lane ticket; 
was private, Captain, Colonel, Brigadier and Major-General in 
the Confederate service, surrendering with the Army of Ten- 
nessee in 1865; was three times dangerously wounded; after the 
close of the war returned to Tennessee and resumed the practice 
of law; was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 
1 868; served on the National Democratic I{xecutive Committee 
for Tennessee twelve years; was an elector for the State-at-large 
on the Tilden and Hendricks ticket in 1876; in 1882, was elected 
Governor of Tennessee, and re-elected, in 18S4; in January, 1887, 
was elected to the Lnited States vSenate as a Democrat, and was 
re-elected in 1893. 




144 '^HK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

3. This party repudiated the interest that had accumulated 
during the war, and issued new bonds, payable in thirty years, 
with optional redemption in five years. In 1881, A. W. Haw- 
kins was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture, to succeed 
J. B. Killebrew, who served from 1875 to 1881. W. S. Doak 
was appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction, to succeed 
I^eon Trousdale, who had served from 1875 to 1881. The State 
had now returned to prosperity, and confidence was once more 
restored. The population had increased from nine hundred 
and thirty-six thousand one hundred and nineteen whites, and 
three hundred and twenty-two thousand three hundred and 
thirty-one colored, in 1870, to one million one hundred and 
thirty-eight thousand eight hundred and thirty-one whites, and 
four hundred and three thousand five hundred and twenty-eight 
colored, in 1880. In 1883, it developed that State Treasurer 
M. T. Polk had defaulted with more than four hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars of the State's funds. 

4. In 1885, the State appropriated ten thousand dollars to 
exhibit its products at the New Orleans Exposition. August 5, 
1886, Peter Turney, W. C. Caldwell, H. H. Lurton, W. C. 
Fowlkes, and B. L- Snodgrass, Democratic candidates for 
vSupreme Judges, received and average of one hundred and fifty- 
seven thousand votes; W. M. Randolph, J. A. Warder, W. M. 
Baxter, Samuel Watson, and W. W. Murray, Republicans, one 
hundred and twenty-two thousand five hundred votes. G. S. W. 
Crawford was appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion in 1882, and served until 1883, when he was succeeded by 
Thomas H. Paine, who served until 1887, who was succeeded 
by Frank M. Smith, who served till Governor Taylor's term 
expired. March 19, 1887, B. M. Hord was appointed Com- 
missioner of Agriculture. September 30, 1887, there was a popu- 
lar vote taken on a prohibition amendment to the Constitution, 
with the following result: Against, one hundred and forty-five 
thousand one hundred and ninety-seven; for the amendment, 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



145 



one hundred and seventeen thousand five hundred and four. 

5. The Democrats, in 1886, nominated and elected Robert L. 
Taylor for Governor, against Alfred A. Taylor, Republican, and 
brother of Robert. This campaign attracted the attention of the 
whole country. Two great orators, brothers, whose politics 
differed so widely, and who were candidates for the same high 
office. Robert was elected, receiving one hundred and twenty- 
six thousand one hundred and fifty-one votes. Alfred received 
one hundred and nine thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven 
votes. 

6. "Our Bob," as he is 
familiarly called, was born in 
Carter county, Tennessee, 
July 31, 1850; was educated 
at Pennington, New Jersey, 
and Athens, Tennessee, where 
he attended the East Ten- 
nessee Wesleyan University. 
In 1878, he was licensed to 
practice law, but was in this 
year elected to Congress. In 
1 884, he was on the Cleveland- 
Hendricks Electoral Ticket 
for the State-at-Large; soon 
after he was appointed to a 
Federal office, which he re- 
signed to accept the Demo- 
cratic nomination for Governor. 
vSince he retired from the governorship he has become prominent 
as a lecturer, and his fame is national. In 1893, he was a can- 
didate for the United States Senate, but was defeated by Senator 
William B. Bate. 

7. In 1891, the Alliance and the Democrats nominated John 
P. Buchanan, a farmer, for Governor. The Republicans nomi- 




GOV. ROBERT L. TAYLOR. 

In 1888. he was re-elected. 



146 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



nated Samuel Hawkins. Buchanan was elected, but his admin- 
i^tration disappointed his most sanguine supporters. He had 

fair ability, but lacked stability. 
The farmers thought they had been 
imposed upon, and they brought 
out Buchanan, a leader in the Al- 
liance, which had been called the 
' ' Wheelers. ' ' Gove rnor Buchanan 
appointed W. R. Garrett, Superin- 
tendent of Puljlic Instruction, and 
I). G. Goodwin, Commissioner of 
Agriculture. 

8. Soon trouble began in the in- 
surrection of the miners, which 
occurred first in Jul3^ 189 1, and 
again in the fall. The miners in 
the fall released six hundred State 
prisoners at Briceville and Coal 
Creek. Governor Buchanan organ- 
ized a provisional army, with which 
This command, under General Kel- 




eiOV. J. p. BUCHANAN. 



he garrisoned Coal Creek 
ler Anderson, maintained law and order in that vicinity until in 
August, 1892, when a general strike occurred, which resulted 
in a third uprising, effecting the entire mining district of Ten- 
nessee. This time the branch prison at Tracy City was attacked, 
the convicts turned loose, and the prison burned. 

9. On the following day, the stockades at Oliver vSprings and 
Inman were attacked. At the former place a gallant defense 
was made by the civil guards and a few soldiers, who were hur- 
riedly sent out from Knoxville to re-enforce it, but Inman gave 
up without a struggle. The defenders at Oliver Springs had to 
surrender the following day, because their ammunition was 
exhausted. The miners were so elated over their success that they 
laid siege to Fort Anderson, and for two da3\s the soldiers at that 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. I47 

place were under constant fire from sharp-shooters secreted in 
the mountains around them. 

10. The entire National Guard of the State was or- 
dered to take the field and go to the relief of Fort Anderson, and 
no time was lost in responding to the call. General Carnes, 
commanding the brigade, quickly reached the scene of strife and 
drove off the insurgents, but before this was done four soldiers 
had been killed and several wounded. For three months a regi- 
ment was encamped at Coal Creek, about one mile from Fort 
Anderson. 

11. The National Guard, State of Tennessee, was organized 
under an act of the Legislature, passed March 22, 1887. Gov- 
ernor Taylor was Commander-in-Chief, and his brother, Brigadier- 
General James P. Taylor, Adjutant-General. Governor Taylor 
at once selected a staff of citizens, who had manifested interest 
in military matters. At this time numerous military organiza- 
tions existed, w^hich were mustered into the State's service, and 
upon this nucleus three regiments of infantry, a battalion of 
artillery, and a troop of cavalry were organized into a brigade. 
The State provided for this Guard, but made no appropriations 
for its maintainance, and soon it waned and nothing more devel- 
oped from it until the insurrection of the miners made it evident 
that the organization must be revived and maintained. 

12. At the time of the outbreak, in July, 1891, there were 
twenty-two infantry companies in the State, poorly equipped and 
absolutely unfit to take the field. This cost the State many 
thousands of dollars, besides the humiliation it caused. Despite 
this neglect, Tennessee's soldiers have always displayed eager- 
ness to do their duty. In September, 1891, the Legislature met 
in extra session and appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars 
for the maintenance of the Guard for the rest of that year and 
for 1892. 

13. The Legislature appropriated forty-five thousand dollars 
for the Guard for 1893-94, and the Secretary of War detailed Cap- 



148 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESvSEE. 



tain H. C. Ward, Sixteenth Infantn-, Ignited States Army, to aid 
in increasing its efficiency, and now Tennessee has a well equip- 
ped and drilled military organization. The National Guard of 
Tennessee, now consists of twenty-one infantry companies, one 
battery of artillery at Nashville, with sections at Chattanooga, 
Memphis and Knoxville, the infantry is organized into two 
regiments and two battalions. Buchanan did not get the strong 
support he thought he ought to have had, and he ran for re- 
election, but was overwhelmingly defeated by Judge Peter Tur- 
ne}^ whom the Democrats had nominated in 1892. The Repub- 
licans nominated George Wiustead, but "Old Pete," as he is 
familiarly called, was elected. 

14. Peter Turney was born in Jasper, Marion county, Ten- 
nessee, September 22, 1827. He is of English descent. Gov- 
ernor Turney has continued to re- 
side in Winchester since February, 
1828. He was educated in the 
schools there, and in a private 
school at Nashville. He began to 
read law under his father. His 
father being elected United States 
Senator, he continued his studies 
under Major Venable, of Winches- 
ter, and was licensed to practice in 
1848. He practiced the law at 
Winchester until 1861. He was, 
in 1 86 1, an alternate elector on the 
Breckenridge ticket. He was the 
Gov. PETER TURNKV. fi^'^'t uiau in the State to publicly 

advocate secession, and was elected, February 9, 1861, a delegate 
to a convention to pass ordinance of secession. He enrolled a 
company of men and was elected Captain; was then commissioned 
to raise a regiment, which he did, and was elected Colonel. It 
was known as "Turnev's First Tennessee." He was severely 




THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 



149 



wounded at the battle of Fredricksburg, December 15, 1862, but 
continued to serve until his surrender, Ma}' 19, 1865. He then 
returned to Winchester to practice law. In 1870, he was elected 
Supreme Judge, w-as re-elected in 1878, and again in 1886. On 
the reorganization of the Supreme Court, in 1886, he was elected 
Chief Justice, and continued to serve until January 16, 1893, 
when he was elected Governor. He served as Judge twenty- 
three years, the longest period of the service of any Judge in the 
histor}' of the State. He w^as pre-eminently the Judge who 
enforced the rule for the more rapid disposition of business, which 
the former bench had been 
unable to enforce; and in this 
connection, the Green Bag 
says: "As a Judge, in the 
opinion of the writer, he ranks 
by the greatest of all the great 
line that began with White." 
15. When the time came 
for Governor Turne3''s inaug- 
uration, he was too feeble to 
visit the Capitol, and a Leg- 
islative committee was com- 
missioned to go to his home 
in Winchester and have him 
inau'gurated, which occurred 
January 16, 1893. Turney 
made a good record, and his 
party, in 1894, nominated him 
for re-election. The Republicans nominated H. Clay Evans, of 
Chattanooga. On account of many irregularities in the election 
for Governor, November 6, 1894, both Turney and Evans claimed 
the election. When the Legislature convened in January, 1895, 
the contest was submitted to it, and after much canvassing was 
finally decided. Governor Turney appointed Frank M. Smith, 




HON. H. CLAY EVANS. 



I50 THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction, and T. F. P. Allison, 

Commissioner of Agriculture. Governor Turney managed 

^ — .^ ever3^thing very satisfactorily, and had 

j^tS^t" ^lo opposition in the nominating con- 

^K/K \ vention. He sought to bring order 

^^^1^ I out of chaos. In 1893, there was a 

^JJ^ ' financial crisis that involved man}- 

business men. In Tennessee it was 

especially severe, almost every bank 

in Nashville suspended. Nothing 

\ equaled it in the annals of history; 

-/ but soon many were able to resume 

business. 

16. The reports of the Superintend- 
ents of Public Instruction for the last 
few years, show mo.st gratifying results 
in the progress and improvement of 

SUPT. FRANK M. SMITH. , , f. , , ^ ^^ , 

the public school system. Under the 
experienced and efhcient management of our late Superintend- 
ents, amendatory legislation from session to session has brought 
the school law to a standard of excellence equal to that of man}- 
of the most favored States. The improvement in the qualifica- 
tions of the teachers, in the methods of normal training, in the 
payment of teachers' wages, in the selection of text-books and 
courses of study, and in the increase of taxation, are manifest 
evidences of a progressive and healthy grow^th. 

17. Tennessee's future is bright. On June 19, 1894, a con- 
vention of representative men met at Nashville to organize an 
exposition to commemorate its one hundredth anniversary, which 
will occur June i, 1896. Will the aged and the youth of Ten- 
nessee be prepared to duly honor the great occasion? Have 
they acquainted themselves with the dramatic episodes of Ten- 
nessee history ? Have they grown familiar with the heroic lives 
and daring deeds of their ancestors? No subject can ever be 




THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



151 



more inspiring and instrnctive to citizenship reared upon our 
soil. So fruitful is the State's history that it can easily gain our 
admiration and inspire love. The fame of her soldiers and 
statesmen, her scholars, her men of science, and her teachers, 




VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, MAIN RUILDING, NASHVIIJ.E. 



authors and artists, her editors and her publishers, her merchants 
and manufacturers, her inventors and mechanics, her farmers 
and financiers, her river, railroad and stock men, her lawyers, 
judges, physicians and surgeons, her theologians and divines, 
has given her a name and established her reputation among the 
nations of the world. 

18. Let these excite the emulation of our youth and impress 
them with the lesson of our history. If faithfully learned and 
applied, with her soil and her climate, her genius and her wealth, 
her learning and her patriotism, her social, civil and military 
reputation, her geographical, commercial and political position, 
with the prestige of her name and fame, we must not expect less 
of the youth of Tennessee than that she will, in the galaxy of 



152 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

the Union of States, assume the position of first among her 
peers. 

Questions. — i. What of Governor Bate and the Democratic 
party? 2. Give biographical sketch of Governor Bate. 3. Give 
the substance of this section. 4. What of the New Orleans Ex- 
position? Who were elected Supreme Judges? Name other 
appointees. 5. Whom did the parties nominate for Governor? 
6. Give biographical sketch of Governor Taylor. 7. What 
occurred in 1891? Who was elected? Why? 8. Give full 
details of this section. 9. What of Oliver Springs and Inman? 
10. What of Fort Anderson and Coal Creek? 11. What of the 
National Guard? Its officers? 12. What was the condition of 
the companies in July, 1891? 13. Give the substance of this 
section. 14. Sketch the life of Governor Turney? 15. Name 
the , appointees. What occurred in 1893? 16. What of the 
condition of our schools? 17. What must we expect of our 
pupils? 18. Give the substance of this section. 




GEOGRAPHY OF TENNESSEE. 1 53 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

GEOGRAPHY OF TENNEvSvSEE. 

1. It is a well-established fact that no State in the American 
Union is more happily endowed by nature with reference to cli- 
mate, soils, productions, beauty of scenery, and sanitary condi- 
tions than Tennessee. It is a State of almost infinite Yariet}- as 
to rocks, minerals, soils, productions, climate, and its geological 
and physical features. It lies between 35° and 36° 30' north 
latitude and 81° 37' and 90° 28' west longitude from Greenwich, 
and contains forty-two thousand and fifty square miles, includ- 
ing three hundred sc^uare miles of water. From east to west it 
is four hundred and thirty-two miles, and from north to south 
one hundred and nine miles, taking the greatest length and 
width. 

2. It has more miles of naYigable streams to the square mile 
than any other State. The Tennessee RiYcr crosses the State 
twice. The Cumberland RiYcr, rising in Eastern Kentucky, 
sweeps in a semi-circle through the fairest portion of the State, 
giYing to it three hundred and four miles of naYigable water. 
The Mississippi washes its entire western limit. Many of the 
tributaries of these principal affluents are naYigable. There are 
eight natural diYisions in the State, a correct knowledge of which 
is indispensable to a proper understanding of its unlimited nat- 
ural resources. 

3. (I. ) On the southeastern border of the State is the mountain- 
ous division. Here, rising in great ridge-like masses and tree- 
less domes, is the medial axis of the great Appalachian Chain, 
the highest peaks of which obtain an elevation of six thousand 



154 1*HE HISTORY OP TENNESSEE. 

six hundred feet above the sea. Upon the brows and bald sum- 
mits of these loft}' heights the flora of Canada and the climate of 
New England may be found. Many beautiful and fertile valleys 
and coves nestle in the bosom of this grand range, which are 
highly productive of the grasses and the hardier bread grains. 
Upon the balds, aLso, natural grasses grow with a prodigal luxu- 
riance. It is the least valuable of all the natural divisions of 
the State in an agricultural point of view, owing not so much to 
the sterilit}' of the soil as to the severity of the climate. Its 
average elevation above the sea is five thousand feet, and its ap- 
proximate area is two thousand square miles. 

4. (II.) The next division is the beautiful fluted Valley of 
East Tennessee, lying between the mountainous division on tlie 
southeast and the Cumberland Tableland on the northwest. 
This valley, so called because it is bounded by great elevations on 
two sides and forms a deep trough between these elevations, is a 
succession of ridges and minor valleys, running in almost un- 
broken lines from northeast to southwest. In other words it has 
a fluted bottom. The subordinate valleys in this great valle}' 
constitute, probably, the most fertile lands in the State, and these 
lands command the highest prices. Agriculturall3^ this division 
is one ot the most important in the State. Its average elevation 
above the sea is one thousand feet, and its area, nine thousand 
two hundred square miles. 

5. (III.) The third natural division is the Cumberland Table- 
land, an elevated plateau rising two thousand feet above the sea 
and one thousand feet above the Valley of East Tennessee. 
This constitutes the coal region of Tennessee. Its area is five 
thousand one hundred square miles. Except for highland pas- 
turage, it is of small value agriculturally. The soil is sandy 
and sterile for the most part, though there are some elevated val- 
\eys where a fairly productive soil may be found. The sand- 
stone soil is well adapted to the growth of vegetables, but not to 
the growth of the cereals. It is a healthy region, and furnishes 



GEOGRAPHY OF TENNESSEE. 1 55 

a cool, bracing climate in snmmer, and for this reason is the seat 
of many popnlar summer resorts. It is asserted by competent 
medical authority that no case of tubercular consumption has 
ever originated on this mountain. 

6. (IV.) The Rimlands, Highlands, or Terrace-lands, form 
the fourth natural division. This division lies to the west of the 
Cumberland Table-land, and extends, like the rim of a plate, 
to the Tennessee Valley on the west, inclosing the great lime- 
stone Central Basin, in which Nashville is situated. This basin 
forms another division of the State, next to be described. If 
this Central Basin should at a former geological epoch have been 
covered with water, the Rimlands would have been an atoll, or 
a greet circular reef, inclosing and confining the lake. This 
Highland Rim is greatly diversified with rolling hills and wide 
valleys. For the most part it appears originally to have been a 
flat plain, which has, through long ages, been profoundly eroded 
by the many streams which flow through it. These streams 
have cut the surface into innumerable deep, and for the most 
part narrow, valleys, leaving here and there the level top of the 
ancient plateau. 

7. Duck River passes through it in a serpentine course, hav- 
ing a general westerly direction. The Cumberland River, with 
its valleys, cuts it almost completely in two. Buffalo River and 
Valley lie wholly within its boundary. The Caney Fork of the 
Cumberland River, and the Elk of the Tennessee River, take 
their rise in the eastern Highlands. This division has some of 
the most fertile soils in the State, distinguished for their choco- 
late color, and their adaptability to the growth of peanuts, to- 
bacco, wheat, corn, and oats. It is a region of great agricultu- 
ral importance and wealth, and is the center of the great charcoal 
iron industry of the State. It is magnificently supplied with 
water-power where the streams pour down from the Highlands 
to lower lands. It has an area of nine thoUvSand three hundred 



156 . THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

square miles, and an average elevation of nearly one thousand 
feet above the sea. 

8. (V.) The Central Basin inclosed b}' the Highlands is ellip- 
tical in shape, and constitutes the fairest domain in the State. 
Topographically, it is a plain with numerous elevations rising 
two hundred to three hundred feet above the general level. The 
underlying rocks are limestones of the silurian age, the disin- 
tegration of which has given rise to a soil rich in all the ele- 
ments of plant nutrition, and one that b}' reason of its formation 
is exceedingly durable and has great strength of constitution. 
Every crop known to the latitude flourishes in this basin, includ- 
ing blue grass. It is to Tennessee w^hat the blue-grass region is to 
Kentucky, and is the center of the great live-stock industry of 
the State. 

9. Here are situated the great breeding establishments, w^here 
the fleet-footed racers, the swift trotters and pacers, the 
lordly short-horns, and the deer-shaped Jerseys find their most 
congenial homes. Here too are to be found the finest flocks of 
sheep in the South, and the be.st-bred hogs. Here are the best- 
stocked farms, and the best farm-houses, and the thriftiest and 
wealthiest farmers. The area of this division is five thousand 
four hundred and fifty square miles, and its average elevation 
above the sea is about five hundred and fifty feet. Nashville is 
situated in this basin. Its soil, its climate, and its high state of 
cultivation justly entitled it to be called the Garden of Tennes- 
see. The w^hole basin, with the surrounding Highlands, is 
slightly tilted toward the northw^est, and it has a less elevation 
on that side than any other. 

10. (VI.) The Western Valley, or the Valley of the Tennes- 
see River, forms the next natural division. This is a narrow val- 
ley, with spurs from the Highlands pointing in toward it, and 
sometimes running down to the margin of the river. The sur- 
face is greatly broken and irregular, but the soil is generally fer- 
tile. Marshy spots covered with cypress swamps occur in places 



GEOGRAPHY OF TENNESSEE. 157 

along the river. The main valley sends out subordinate ones 
extending as far as twenty or twenty-five miles before they are 
lost on the Highlands. The Western Valley does not include all 
the territory drained by the tributaries of the Tennessee, but its 
general limits are the lines along which the Highlands on both 
sides for the most part break away. The average width of this 
valley is ten or twelve miles, its length the breadth of the State, 
and its area about one thousand two hundred square miles. Its 
elevation above the sea is about three hundred and sixty feet. 

11. (VII.) The Plateau, or Slope, of West Tennessee is the 
seventh natural division. This differs essentially from the other 
divisions heretofore named, in the fact that it has but few rocks. 
It is of more recent geological formation. Topographically, it 
is a great plain that slopes gradually toward the Mississippi 
River, usually with a sui'face gently undulating, but in some 
places greatly roughened by abrupt hills and sharply defined 
narrow valleys. The character of the soil varies greatly from 
that of the preceding divisions, being light, porous, siliceous, 
and for the most part ash-colored, but charged with the elements 
of an abounding fertility. This soil, owing to its highly pulver- 
ulent condition and the absense of rocks, is easily washed into 
gullies, and greater care is demanded for its preservation. It 
grows all the crops of the latitude with a wonderful fecundity, 
but cotton and corn are the staple crops, except in its central 
part, where vegetables and fruits have been substituted in large 
part for cotton. 

12. A few of the northern counties in this division grow wheat 
and tobacco, as well as cotton and corn, and the large yield of 
corn shows that the soils are excellently well adapted to the 
growth of the cereals. The heaviest and best forests of hard- 
wood in the State are also to be found in the northern and cen- 
tral parts of this division. The streams are sluggish, and their 
banks unstable. This division is furrowed with river valleys, 
the elevations between which rarely rise above one hundred feet. 



158 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

It extends from the Tennessee River westward for an average 
distance of about eighty-four miles, and terminates abrupth% 
falling off into a long and steep bluff, or escarpment, that over- 
looks the great alluvial bottoms of the Mississippi River. It 
covers a superficial extent of eight thousand eight hundred and 
fifty miles, and has an average elevation of five hundred feet. 

13. (VIII.) The bottoms of the Mississippi River form the 
eighth and last natural division into which the State is divided. 
This division teems with a rank luxuriance of vegetable life that 
i:s almost tropical. The timber is heavy, and the undergrowth 
of cane, vines, and shrubs makes the virgin forests well nigh 
impassable. The cane furnishes a rich pasturage for cattle, not 
only in summer, but throughout the year. Cattle are reared 
upon the wild herbage of these bottoms and marketed without 
ever having been fed with corn, oats, or hay. This division 
also abounds in lakes, where many excellent varieties of fish are 
found, as w^ell as water-fowl, in the greatest abundance. It is 
the sportsman's paradise during the fall and winter months. The 
soil is of exuberant fertility, and will produce 3^ear after year, 
with no apparent diminution in quantity, enormous crops of 
corn, cotton and hay. The agricultural resources of this divis- 
ion are enormous, and, when reclaimed from the dank, dark for- 
ests, will subsist a larger population per square mile than any 
other portion of the State. The surface embraces nine hundred 
and fifty square miles, and it has an average elevation of two 
hundred and ninety-five feet above the sea. 

14. (i.) Tennessee has three civil or political divisions. 
East Tennessee. This comprises all the territory from the 
North Carolina line to about the center of the Cumberland 
Table-land, including the first and second natural divisions and 
about one-half of the third. It contains thirteen thousand one 
hundred and twelve square miles, and embraces the following 
counties: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blunt, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, 
Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Han- 



GEOGRAPHY OF TENNESSEE. 159 

cock, Hawkins, James, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, 
Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Roane, 
Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Sullivan, Union, Unicoi, and Wash- 
ington — thirty-four counties. 

15. (II.) Middle Tennessee. This division extends from the 
dividing line on the Cumberland Table-land to the Tennessee 
River, and comprises the whole of the forth and fifth natural di- 
visions and about half of the third and sixth. Its area embraces 
eighteen thousand one hundred and twenty-six square miles. 
Counties embraced in this division: Bedford, Cannon, Cheat- 
ham, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, Davidson, De Kalb, Dickson, 
Fentress, Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Humphre3^s, Hickman, 
Houston, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Marshall, 
Maury, Montgomery, Moore, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Putnam, 
Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, 
\'an Buren, Warren, Wayne, White, Williamson, and Wilson — 
forty-one counties. 

16. (III.) West Tennessee. This division extends from the 
Tennessee River westward to the Mississippi, and includes the 
whole of the seventh and eighth natural divisions and one-half 
of the sixth. West Tennessee contains ten thousand five hun- 
dred and twelve square miles, exclusive of surface permanently 
covered with water. The following counties are embraced in 
this division: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crocket, Decatur, Dyer, 
Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, 
Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Shelby, 
Tipton, and Weakley — twenty-one counties. 

17. The climate of Tennessee combines humidity and sun- 
shine, cold and warmth, in just such proportions as to produce 
the highest degree of perfection in the largest number of crops. 
This statement may be easily verified by consulting the census 
returns, in which it will appear that every crop grown in the 
United States may be, and actually is, grown to some extent in 
the State of Tennessee. This can not be said of any other 



l6o THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

State. The truth is, the productions of both the Northern and 
Southern States meet and overlap in Tennessee. There is just 
cold enough during the winter months to invigorate the physical 
system, ameliorate the soil, and destroy the germs of disabling 
disease. The heat in summer is rarely long-continued, nor is 
the cold in winter. There are but few days during the year in 
which a laboring man is prevented, either by excessive heat or 
cold, from performing comfortably outdoor work. Statistics 
show it to be one of the healthiest States in the Union. Exclud- 
ing a few lowlands, there is scarcely a malarious district in the 
State. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



GEOLOGY OF TENNESSP:E. 



Tennessee has almost every variety of geological formations. 
In East and Middle Tennessee they are made up, for the most 
part of hard rocky strata consisting of limestones, sandstones, 
shales, slate, gneiss and granite. In West Tennessee beds of sand 
and cla}^ with but few hard rocks constitute the strata. 

The soils are derived from the geological formations and their 
fertility or sterility may generally be inferred from the character 
of the formations from which they are derived, because all soils 
except those that are drifted are derived immediately from the 
weathering or crumbling down of a portion of the rocky strata 
that lie beneath them. Drifted soils, such as the alluvial and 
the tertiary soils of West Tennessee derive their material from 
many sources and have been deposited by water. 

It often happens that the highest regions topographically are 
the lowest geologically. This is the case in Tennessee. The 
highest mountains in the Eastern part of the State constitute the 
very lowest geological formations. These mountains have been 



GKOLOGY OF TENNKSSEK. 



l6l 



Uplifted and some of the higher strata are oftentimes found lying 
conformabl}^ on the sides. 

Taking the formations from the oldest and lowest geologically 
and proceeding to the more recent we may construct the foUow- 
ins: table after Safford: 



A. LOWER SILURIAN. 



Metamorphic rock. 
Ocoee group. 
Chilhowee sandstone. 
Knox vSandstone. 
Knox shale. 
Knox dolomite. 
Trenton or Lebanon. 
Nashville or Cincinnati. 



Potsdam Period. 



Quebec Period. 



Trenton Period. 



B. UPPER SILURIAN. 



Clinch Mountain sandstone. 
White Oak Mt. sandstone. 
Dyestone or Clinton group. 
Niagara limestone. 
Lower Helderbero:. 



Niagara Period. 



[; Lower Held'g Period. 



C. — DEVONIAN. 



14. Black shale. 



J> Hamilton Period. 



D. CARBONIFEROUS. 



15- 
16. 

17- 

18. 



20. 

21. 



Barren group. 

Coral or St. Louis limestone. 
Mountain limestone. 
Coal measures. 



[ Mississippi or Sub- 
i Carniferous Period. 

^ Coal Period. 



E. — CRETACEOUS, 



Coffee sand. 
Rreen sand. 
Ripley group. 



Cretaceous Period. 



l62 THE HISTORY OF TKNNKSSKE. 

F. TERTIARY. 

22. Flatwood sands and clays. 1 ata ^- -r. • j 
23- La Grange sands. j Tertiary Period. 

G. QUARTERNARY AND MODERN. 

24. Orange sand and drift. J; Quarternary Period. 

25. Bluff loam or loees. V Terrace Period. 

26. Alluvium. ; Human Period. 

(i.) The Metamorphic or Lowest Formation is made up of 
granite, gneiss, talcose, shale, mica, slate, epidote, hornblende, 
pyroxene, quartz, feldspar, serpentine and many other rocks. 
AvSSociated with these rocks are oftentimes found magnetic and 
specular iron ores and copper ores. Tennessee has only a small 
area of these formations covering in the aggregate about three 
hundred and twenty-five square miles. This formation is con- 
fined to the Southeastern parts of Johnson, Carter, Unicoi, 
Cooke, Monroe and Polk Counties. 

(2.) The Ocoee Group and the Chilhowee sandstones are ver}" 
thick formations. They make up the rocks of the Unaka 
ridges. These formations are confined to East Tennessee and 
in that portion of it which embraces the high mountains on the 
Southeast. The Ocowee group has an estimated thickness of 
ten thousand feet and includes heavy beds of hard conglomerate 
rocks, sandstones very compact, clay, slates, talcose and roofing 
slates and beds of magnesian limestones. All the strata of this 
formation dip at a very high angle. 

(3.) The Chilhowee sandstone has a thickness of about two 
thousand feet. It is the material of which Chilhowee Mountain 
is composed. The sandstone is heavy-bedded generally, and 
greyish white in color where weathered. It builds up a broken 
chain of mountains that skirts the Unaka Mountain. 

The next five formations embracing the Quebec and Trenton 
Periods contain sandstones, limestones and dolomites or magne- 



GEOLOGY OF TENNESSEE. 163 

sian limestones. These formations are made of softer materials 
than those that have been heretofore mentioned, which are moun- 
tain-making or are composed of rocks that do not disintegrate or 
crumble readily by atmospheric influences. The five formations, 
namely, Knox sandstone, Knox shale, Knox dolomite, the 
Trenton and Cincinnati group are valley making; that is, their 
material is so soft that the erosive agencies of rain, frost 
and the atmosphere have been able to scoop out valleys and 
basins. 

(4. ) The Knox Sandstone is from eight hundred to one thous- 
and feet in thickness and is composed of variegated sandstones 
and shales with occasional beds of dolomite. This formation 
yields a poor thin soil but contributes a marked feature to the 
topography of the country by making sharp roof-like ridges. 

(5.) The Knox Shale, coming next in ascending order is 
about two thousand feet thick and is made up of brown reddish 
buff and chloritic shades, often calcareous, and enclosing thin 
layers of colitic limestone. This formation gives rise to many 
beautiful and fertile valle3^s in East Tennessee. The oldest 
traces of animal life met with in Tennessee are found in this for- 
mation in the form of fossil, shells and trilobites. 

(6.) The Knox Dolomite is the most massive formation in 
the State. It is thought to be a mile in thickness. It is 
made up of heavy-bedded strata of blue and gre}- limestones 
and dolomites or magnesian limestones. A good deal of chert 
also occurs with this formation. The topography of the Knox 
dolomite formation presents valleys, plateaus and broad rounded 
ridges making noted undulations in the great Valley of East 
Tennessee. Knoxville is on one of these ridges and Athens on 
another. The chert forming these ridges has been liberated b}- 
the solution of the calcareous rocks which once enclosed it and 
now form a shield which protects the underlying strata from 
erosion. 

The rocks of the Knox dolomite formation make a fertile, 



164 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

friable soil of much strength of constitution and of great 
productiveness. 

(7.) The Trenton or Lebanon Group and the Nashville or 
Cincinnati Group. These two groups may be well considered 
together as they are always more or less associated — the Leba- 
non rocks. Both formations are composed of blue limestones 
filled wnth fossil remains and yielding a larger area of good soils 
than any other formations in the State. They make up the 
rocks of the Central Basin in which Nashville is situated where 
they lie in nearly a horizontal position. They form much of 
the surface also of the Valley of East Tennessee. The rocks of 
both of these formations are soft and readily 34eld to erosive 
agencies making the richest valleys in the State. The maximum 
thickness of this formation in East Tennessee is from two thous- 
and five hundred to three thousand feet. 

In the Central Basin, the Trenton or Lebanon and Nashville 
rocks make the floor and much of the walls of the Basin. All 
the rocks are blue fossiliferous limestones, rich in the constitu- 
ent elements of a fruitful soil. West of the Central Basin are 
only two outcrops of these rocks, one in vStewart Count}^ in the 
Wells Creek basin and the other in the bed of the Tennessee 
River. The marbles of East Tennessee and h3^draulic lime- 
stones and much good building stone are derived from the rocks 
of these formations. 

(9.) Clinch Mountain Sandstone. This comes next above the 
Nashville rocks. This is a local formation of no importance agri- 
culturally, and is made up of a greyish thick-bedded sandstone 
about four hundred feet thick. Its greatest development is on 
the vSouthern slope of Cinch Mountain from which it takes its 
name. 

(10.) The White Oak Mountain Sandstone formation is local 
and consists of a group of variegated sandstones and shales, red, 
green and buff colored. These rocks form the summit and East- 
ern slope of White Oak Mountain in James and Bradley conn- 



GEOLOGY OF TENNESSEE. 165 

ties, and also the Eastern slopes of Powell and Loan Monntain 
in the Northern part of East Tennesse Valley. This formation 
is of no agricultural or mineral importance. 

(11.) The D3'estone Group is from one hundred to three hun- 
dred feet in thickness and carries one to three layers of red fos- 
sil ore, intercalated with shales and sandstones which makes 
this formation of great commercial importance. Many thousands 
of tons of iron ore are mined from this formation at Inman in 
Sequatchie Vallc}^ and at Rockwood in Roane County and at 
other places. 

(12.) The Niagara Einiestone formation occurs mainly in the 
Western Valley of the Tennessee River. It is about two hun- 
dred feet thick and is made up of thick-bedded fossiliferous 
limestones, sometimes crystalline but often claye}*. Some fair 
marble, variegated and grey, pertains to this formation. This 
group of rocks occupies the greater part of the surface of the 
Western Valley outside of the alluvial bottoms. 

(13.) The Lower Helderberg formation is about sevent}^ feet 
in thickness and consists of blue, thin-bedded, fossil limestones 
often carr3dng cherty la3'ers. The formation is found in its 
greatest development in the Western Valle}- and in the \'alle3\s 
of Duck River and Buffalo River. The crumbling of the rocks 
of this formation makes an excellent friable soil, but the area of 
such soil is very limited. 

(14.) The Black Shale Formation is made up of a black bit- 
uminous tough shale saturated with oil and is often taken for 
coal by ignorant people. Underlying this formation is often 
found a bed of phosphate rock valuable for making fertilizers. 
The thickness of this formation is from a few inches to fifty feet. 

(15.) The Barren Group is a bed for the most part of flinty 
limestone. The derived soils are very thin and poor. It has a 
thickness of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet. 

(16.) The Coral Limestone formation is made up of a bluish 
lime.stone and has a thickness of from one hundred to two hun- 



1 66 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

dred aud fifty feet. The soil from the formation is ver}^ fruitful 
and makes the best tobacco lands in the State. Found all around 
the Central Basin and in some parts of East Tennessee. 

(17.) The Mountain Limestone formation is unimportant for it 
is only seen on the slopes of the mountain. It is made up of 
heavy beds of limestone. It is from four hundred to eight hun- 
dred feet thick. 

(18.) The Coal Measures cover about five thousand one hun- 
dred square miles in this State, and are from five hundred to 
two thousand feet in thickness. This formation carries from two 
to six workable seams of coal. There are about eighty-four coal 
mines worked in Tennessee and the average production is about 
two million five hundred thousand tons annually. 

(19 and 20.) The Coffee Sand and the Rotton Limestone for- 
mations occur in West Tennessee onl3^ The}^ give rise to soils 
of considerable fertility and the Rotton limestone formation car- 
ries a bed of green sand which makes a good fertilizer. 

(21, 22 and 23.) The Ripley Group is much like the Coffee 
sand and has a thickness of five hundred feet. 

The Flatwoods Group which comes next is from two hundred 
to three hundred feet thick and has more clay in its composition 
than the Ripley Group. 

The La Grange Group overlies the last and is probably six 
hundred feet thick and is a stratified mass of sand. 

(24.) The Orange Sand or Drift formation comes next and 
is made up of sand and gravel and is drifted like snow over the 
surface, leaving spots bare of it and at other places attaining a 
thickness of one hundred feet or more. 

(25.) The Bluff Loam or Loess formation crowns the uplands 
of the counties of Shelby, Tipton, Lauderdale, Dyer and Obion. 
It is a fine calcareous and siliceous loam and gives rise to one of 
the most productive soils in the State. Its maximum thickness 
is about one hundred feet. 

(26.) The Alluvium formation includes all the recent depo.sits 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 1 67 

and consists of fine silt brought down from a higher level. The 
soils of the alluvian are the most productive and durable in the 
State. 

SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF J. B. KILLEBREW. 

J. B. Killebrew was born in Montgomer}- Count}^ Tennessee, 
Ma)^ 29, 1831 , was reared on a farm, educated at the University of 
North Carolina where he was graduated with the first distinc- 
tion in 1856; afterwards read law, devoted himself to agriculture, 
was made active Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1871- 
75, canvassed the State in the interest of public schools, making 
two valuable reports to the Legislature on that subject which 
were printed, and by their influence turned the tide of public 
opinion in favor of a public school system. Afterwards he de- 
voted his time to the duties of Commissioner of Agriculture for 
the State of Tennessee, which position he held for ten years. 
He wrote and published during his incumbency 10,000 pages on 
the resources of the State. Mr. Killebrew was a special expert 
in the census work of 1880 and published a quarto volume on 
tobacco of the United States. He has been the editor of several 
journals. The degrees of A. M. and Rh. D. were conferred 
upon him b}^ the Universit}" of North Carolina. During his ac- 
tive life he investigated the soils, crops and minerals of nearly 
ever3^ State in the Union and in several of the States of Mexico. 
His life has been a very active and useful one. His recent labors 
have been in assisting in the work of the Standard Dictionar}^ 
published in New York in two large volumes, and in inducing cap- 
ital and immigration to the South. He prepared this chapter. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 



I. Civil Government is that authority 'b}^ which a State or a 
Nation is ruled. It is established to preserve and keep society 



1 68 the: history of Tennessee. 

in order. The foundation of society are the wants and fears of 
individuals. Unless some superior be constituted, whose com- 
mands and decisions all the members are bound to obe}^ they 
would still remain in a state of nature, without any judge upon 
earth to define their several rights and redress their several 
grievances. 

2. Our State desires the protection and happiness of its citi- 
zens, and wdth that view its laws are enacted. In conjunction 
with the Federal Government, it watches and subserves our 
interests in many tangible ways. The people are the govern- 
ment, and it is successful in proportion to their intelligence and 
interest. 

3. The government is divided into three general departments, 
viz. : I^egislative, Executive, and Judicial, whose functions are to 
enact, enforce and interpret our laws. Wise legislation has for 
its object the promotion of certain interests; the executive power 
enforces it with that view; if found in contravention to right and 
justice, it is nullified by the judiciary department. 

4. The Legislative department is composed of Senators and 
Representatives elected by the qualified voters on the first Tues- 
day after the first Monda}^ in November of even numbered j^ears. 
A Senator must be at least thirty years old, and have resided 
three years in this State and one year in the county or district 
immediately preceding the election. A Representative must be 
at least twenty-one years of age, and have resided in this State 
at least three 5^ears next preceding his election and the last j^ear 
thereof in the county, town or city he represents. These officers 
are elected for two years. The Senate and House of Represen- 
tatives elect their officers, who are vested with the power to act 
during the sitting of the body by which they were elected. 

5. The LegivSlature may regulate the jurisdiction of the courts 
and establish new ones. It convenes biennially at Nashville in 
odd numbered years, but may meet in extra session at an}^ time 
if the Governor deem it necessary. Its functions are outlined 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 1 69 

and restricted b}- the State Constitution, which limits its regular 
session to seventy-five days, and its extra session to twenty da3'S. 
Each legislator receives a per diem of four dollars, and mileage 
to and from Nashville, but these may be changed by an}' subse- 
quent session. 

6. The Executive department is vested with authority to 
enforce legislative enactments. The Governor is the chief officer 
of the State. He is elected for two years by popular suffrage. 
He shall be at least thirty years of age, and must have resided 
in this State at least seven years next preceding his election. 

7. The Secretary of State must be elected by the joint houses 
of the Legislature for a term of four years. His duties are to 
keep a fair register, and attest all the official acts of the Governor, 
and when required he shall lay before either house of the General 
Assembly all papers, vouchers, minutes, etc., relative to his 
office, and perform such other duties as may be required by law. 

8. The State Treasurer is elected by the Legislature for two 
years, and must be at least twenty-one years of age, and must 
have resided within the State at least two years next preceding 
his election or appointment. His duties are to receive and safely 
keep in the treasury the State's money and accounts. He 
shall receive and pay out money from the treasury only upon the 
certificate or warrant of the Comptroller, unless the law directs 
it. He must keep true accounts of all receipts and disburse- 
ments. He must execute an official bond, approved by the Gov- 
ernor, before he can take charge of this department. 

9. The Attorney-General is elected, by the Judges of the 
Supreme Court, for eight years. His function is to administer 
legal advice in cases in which the State is a party. The Register 
of the Land Office is elected for four years and has care of the 
original patents and surveys of lands in the State. He must 
execute bond with approved surety. 

10. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is appointed by 
the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and holds office two 



lyo THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

years. His duties are to make correct reports of the condition, 
progress, and prospects of the schools; to prepare suitable blanks 
for official reports, etc. , and to advise and co-operate with school 
officers in establishing and maintaining good schools. 

1 1 . The State Geologist has charge of the geological surveys 
of the State and inspects mines. He is appointed by the Gov- 
ernor. The Commissioner of Agriculture has charge of this 
bureau to aid farmers in promoting their interests. He is 
appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and 
holds office for two j^ears. The Adjutant-General has charge of 
the State militia, the arms and munitions of war. The Governor 
appoints him. The State Librarian is elected by the General 
Assembly for two years, and has charge of the Public Library 
of the State and contracts for and furnishes the necessar}^ sta- 
tionery to the State officers. 

12. The Public Printer and Binder is elected by the Legisla- 
ture for two years, and is paid according to the work he does for 
the State. The Commissioner of Insurance is appointed b}' and 
is under the general supervision of the Comptroller. His duties 
are to investigate the reliability of insurance companies doing 
business in this State. 

13. The State Inspector and Examiner is appointed by the 
Governor for two j^ears. Once each year he must examine into 
the management and condition of the Comptroller's and Treas- 
urer's offices, and the prisons and charitable institutions operated 
by the State. The Board of Equalization consists of one member 
from each Appellate District, appointed by the Governor. They 
are required to equalize taxation throughout the State. 

14. The Governor in the recess of the Senate has power to fill 
vacancies in the foregoing offices by granting commissions, which 
shall expire at the end of the next session, and shall fill the 
vacancy for the rest of the time or until the election, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. If a vacancy occurs in 
the ofiice of Governor, the Speaker of the Senate becomes Gov- 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 171 

ernor. The foregoing officers are allowed annual salaries, pa3'a- 
ble monthly out of the State treasury, the Public Printer and 
Board of Equalization excepted. The General Assembly fixes 
the salaries. 

15. The Sheriff, Trustee, Register, County Clerk, and Asses- 
sor, are county officers whose functions are well known and 
easily explained, hence we deem it unnecessary to outline them 
here. They are elected b}' the qualified voters and get their 
compensation in fees. The Surveyor and County Superintend- 
ent are elected by the County Court. Justices of the Peace are 
elected for six years, and there are two or more in each district. 
They compose the County Court. Constables are district officers 
who serve two years. 

16. The Judicial department interprets laws and, if necessar>^ 
decides their constitutionality. In conjunction with the State 
Government is the Federal Government, which has the three 
departments, viz: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The 
Legislative department is composed of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. The Senators are elected for a term of six 
years by the Legislature of the State which they represent. 
Each State is entitled to two Senators. A Senator must be at 
least thirty years of age, a citizen of the State from which he is 
elected, and have been a citizen of the United States nine years 
preceding his election. The Vice-President is ex-officio Presi- 
dent of the Senate. 

17. The House of Representatives consists of members elected 
directly by the people. Thej^ hold office for two years. These 
two bodies are knowai as Congress, which is the law-making 
power of the United States. Each Congress lasts two years, and 
holds two sessions, a long and a short one; but the President can 
call extra sessions. A Representative must be at least twenty- 
five years of age, and must have been at least seven 3'ears a 
citizen of the United States and an inhabitant of the State from 
which he is chosen. The decennial census fixes the number of 



172 THie HISTORY OP TENNESSEE. 

Representatives, but each State is entitled to one. Each organ- 
ized Territory is entitled to one Delegate, who may engage in 
debate, but not vote. Senators and Representatives get an 
annual salar>% paid out of the United States treasury. 

18. The Executive department is composed of the President 
and his Cabinet officers, who have the laws of Congress to 
enforce. The President is elected by the Electoral College, 
composed of electors, from the various States, who were elected 
by the people. The President selects his Cabinet officers and the 
Senate confirms them. The President's and Vice-President's 
term of office is four years, but they may be re-elected. If the 
President is removed, the Vice-President becomes President, and 
if he be removed, then the Secretar}^ of State becomes President. 
The President must be a native citizen of the United States, and 
at least thirty-five years of age, and been fourteen years a resi- 
dent of the United States. The Constitution of the United States 
outlines Congressional duties. 

19. The Judicial department interprets the laws enacted by 
Congress and advises, when necessar}^, the various departments 
how to make legal procedure in cases. The Federal Courts are 
under the jurisdiction of this department. For full information 
in civil government see Free's Manual: The Principles of Civil 
Government in the United States and State of Tennessee. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CHRONOLOGY OF TENNESSEE, 1796-1895. 

1796. — ^January 11, Constitutional Convention met at Knox- 
ville, William Blount, President; William Machin, Secretary. 
March 31, William Blount and William Cocke were elected 
United States Senators; William Machin, Secretary of State. 
June I, this State admitted into the Union. 



CHRONOLOGY OP TENNKSvSF^H, 1796-1895. 1 73 

1797. — ^July 8, William Blount expelled from the United States 
Senate. 

1798. — December 3, second session of General Assembly met at 
Knoxville; William Blount elected Speaker. 

1799. — October 26, the first camp meeting was held in the State, 
in Sumner count3\ 

1800. — Governor William Blount died at Knoxville. 

1801. — September 21, the General Assembl}^ met at Knoxville 
and adjourned, November 14. November 6, Gallatin, Rut- 
ledge, Lebanon and Tazewell established. 

1802. — ^John Sevier, Moses Fisk and John Rutledge, of Ten- 
nessee, and Creed Taylor, Joseph Martin and Peter Johnson, 
of Virginia, appointed Commissioners to survey the line be- 
tween Virginia and Tennessee. 

1803. — State composed of three Congressional Districts, Wash- 
ington, Hamilton and Mero; Commissioners appointed to 
survey boundary line between Kentuck}^ and Tennessee; Jack- 
son challenged Sevier to duel. 

1S04. — Legislature provided for public roads; horse-racing in- 
augurated in Tennessee, at Gallatin. 

1S05. — Aaron Burr visits Nashville; Governor William Brown- 
low, born in Virginia, August 29, died at Knoxville, April 29, 
1877. 

1806. — ^Joseph Coleman, first Mayor of Nashville. March i, 
duel between W. A. McNairy and General William Coffee. 

1807. — East Tennessee College (Blount College) established at 
Knoxville; General William Campbell, born at Nashville, 
February i, died at Nashville, x\ugust 19, 1867. 

1808. — General Assembly (second session) met at Kingston, 
April 3, adjourned April 22; Andrew Johnson, born in North 
Carolina, December 29. died at Carter's Station, Tennessee, 
July 31, 1875. 



174 ' I'HK HISTORY OF TENNESSKK. 

1809. — Hugh L. White and G. W. Campbell, first Supreme 
Judges; Governor James C. Jones, born in Davidson county, 
April 20, died at Memphis, October 29, 1859. 

1 8 10. — February 4, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was 
organized at Samuel McAdow's residence, Dickson county, as 
an independent Presbytery; Governor Neil S. Brown, born in 
Giles county, April 18, died at Nashville, 1886. 

181 1. — Supreme Court vested with exclusive equity jurisdiction; 
the General Assembly met in Knoxville for the last time, 
except in 181 7; Reynoldsburg, Elkton, Washington (in Rhea) 
and Murfreesboro were established; Reelfoot I^ake made by an 
earthquake. 

1812. — Governor Blount furnishes the War Department twenty- 
five hundred men for the war of 181 2-15; State divided into 
six Congressional Districts; importation of slaves prohibited 
for five years; Jackson gets "Old Hickory;" Nashville Whig 
established. 

1 8 13. — Governor authorized to march three thousand and five 
hundred men against the Creek Indians; Andrew Jackson 
appointed Major-General in the United States army. 

1 8 14. — ^James Robertson died at Chickasaw Agency, Memphis, 
September i; President Madison appointed George W. Cam- 
bell, Secretary of the United States Treasury. 

18 15. — Battle of New Orleans fought, January 8; Parry W. 
Humphreys appointed, November 29, Commissioner for Ten- 
nessee to settle line between Kentucky and Tennessee; Joseph 
Anderson appointed Comptroller of the United States Treas- 
ury. 

1 8 16. — Andrew Jackson negotiated with the Cherokees andChick- 
asaws to extinguish their claims to lands in Tennessee. 

18 17. — Legislature met, September 15, at Knoxville: General 
John Cocke and James S. Gaines, of Tennessee, and Captain 



CHRONOLOGY OF TENNKSSKE, 1 796-1 895- 175 

Stock and James Carmack, of Georgia, were appointed to run 
a line between these States. 

1818.— Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby made a treaty, Octo- 
ber 19, with the Chickasaws by which all territory north of 
35° and east of the Mississippi was ceded to Tennessee; Isham 
G. Harris, born at Tullahoma, February 10. 

1 8 19. —Thirteenth General Assembly met at Murfreesboro; Gov- 
ernor McMinn recommends the establishment of penitentiary; 
June 6, President Monroe visited Nashville; June 19, all the 
banks of the State suspend specie payment except Bank of 
Tennessee; October 19, "Tennessee Antiquarian Society" 
organized, Judge John Haywood, President. 

1820.— Alexander Smith, Isaac Allen and Simean Perry ap- 
pointed to run the line between North Carolina and Tennessee: 
General Assembly, second session, met at Murfreesboro, June 
26; Tennessee voted for James Monroe for President, and D. 
D. Tompkins for Vice-President. 

182 1.— Fourteenth General Assembly met, September 17, at 
Murfreesboro; General Andrew Jackson appointed Territorial 
Governor of Florida, and Alexander Anderson, of Tennessee, 
ITnited States District Attorney of West Florida. 

1822.— General Assembly, second session, met at Murfreesboro, 
July 22 to August 24; it established nine Congressional Dis- 
tricts; swords voted Generals Jackson and Gaines for gallantry 
in the war of 181 2. 

1823. — Fifteenth General Assembly met at Murfreesboro, Sep- 
tember 15 to November 29; General Carroll re-elected Governor 
without opposition; Pioneer established at Jackson, first news- 
paper in West Tennessee. 

1824. — General Assembly, second session, held at Murfreesborc 
from September 20 to October 22; Presidential vote of Ten- 
nessee: Andrew Jackson, twenty thousand one hundred and 



176 THK HISTORY OF TKNNKSSKK. 

ninety-seven; Adams, two hundred and sixteen; Crawford, 
three hundred and twelve. 

1*^25. — Sixteenth General Assembly, first session, held at Mur- 
freesboro from September 19 to December 7; General Lafayette 
visited Nashville. 

1826. — The Legislature, having met at Murfreesboro from 18 19 
to 1826, convened the second session at Nashville, October 16, 
and held to December 11; Memphis Advocate, first newspaper 
at Memphis, established; the Nashville Bank failed; duel 
between General William White and Sam Houston; Governor 
Carroll, in a proclamation, April 8, declared Nashville the 
Capitol of the State from May i ensuing. 

1827. — Seventeenth General Assembly held at Nashville from 
September 17 to December 15; a fund established for the sup- 
port of free schools. 

1828. — Andrew Jackson elected President of the United States, 
and served from March 4, 1829, till March 4, 1837; Presiden- 
tial vote of Tennessee: General Jackson, forty-four thousand 
and ninety; John Q. Adams, two thousand two hundred and 
forty. 

1829. — Governor Sam Houston resigned and William Hall, 
Speaker of the Senate, becomes Governor; Senator John H. 
Eaton appointed Secretary of War. 

1830. — ^Joel Parrish, Cashier of the Bank of Tennessee, defaulted 
for two hundred thousand dollars. 

1 83 1. — Imprisonment for debt abolished; Dr. Gerard Troost 
appointed State Geologist; John H. Eaton appointed United 
States Minister to Spain. 

1832. — Nineteenth General Assembly, second .session, held at 
Nashville from September 3 to October 22; Presidential vote 
of Tennessee: Jackson, twenty-eight thousand seven hundred 



CHRONOI.OGY OF TENNESSEE, 1796-1895. 177 

and forty; Henr}^ Clay, one thousand four hundred and thirty- 
six; December 13, cholera declared to exist in Nashville. 

1833. — Vote for a Constitutional Convention, fifty-three thousand 
six hundred and thirty-nine; vote for Representatives, ninety 
thousand seven hundred and eighty-one; Twentieth General 
Assembly, first session, held at Nashville from vSeptember 16 
to December 2; cholera in Tennessee. 

1834. — On the first Thursday and Friday of March an election 
was held for sixty delegates to Constitutional Convention; it 
assembled at Nashville, May 19 to August 30, William B. 
Carter was President, William K. Hill, Secretary: John Bell 
was Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Twenty- 
Third Congress. 

1835. — Constitution of 1834 was ratified on March 5 and 6 by 
forty-two thousand six hundred and sixty-six for, to seventeen 
thousand six hundred and ninety-one against it. 

1836. — Governor Cannon convened the Twenty-First General 
Assembly to defra}^ the expense of the surveys of the Louis- 
ville, Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad, it met October 3 to 26; 
March 6, David Crockett was killed at the Alamo. 

1837. — Twenty-Second General Assembly, first session, met in 
October and adjourned January 27, 1838; Judge John Catron 
was . made Associate Justice of the United States Supreme 
Court, serving till May 8, 1865, w^hen he died at Nashville. 

1838. — Felix Grundy appointed Attorney-General of the United 
States, July 7, and served till Januar}^ 10, 1840. 

1839. — Governor Sam Houston visited Tennessee: total State 
school mone}' invested in stocks, eight hundred and thirty-five 
thousand and thirty-four dollars. 

1840. — Presidential vote: W. H. Harrison, Whig, sixty thousand 
three hundred and ninety-one: Martin Van Buren, Democrat, 
forty-eight thousand two hundred and eighty-nine; April 10, 



178 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

Hugh L. White died at Knoxville; December 10, Felix Griind}^ 
died at Nashville. 

1 841. — Twenty- Fourth General Assembl}^ met from October 4 to 
Februar}' 7, 1842; President Harrison appointed John Bell, 
Secretary of War. 

1842.— P. I^indsley, W. G. Dickson, J. Waters, R. C. K. Martin, 
J. W. McCombs, J. M. Hill and Wilkins Tannehill commis- 
sioned Lunatic Asylum Commissioners. 

1843. — Twenty-Fifth General Assembly held from October 2 to 
January 31, 1844; Nashville was established the permanent 
seat of government; Marshal Bertrand, of France, visited 
Nashville. 

1844. — ^Janies K. Polk was nominated and elected to the Presi- 
dency; Henr}^ Clay carried Tennessee over Polk; Governor 
William Carroll died at Nashville, March 22. 

1845. — Great Commercial Convention at Memphis, Calhoun, 
President; Polk inaugurated President, March 4; Cave Johnson 
appointed Postmaster-General; A. J. Donelson appointed Min- 
ister to Russia; William H. Polk, Minister to Naples; General 
Robert Armstrong, Consul to Liverpool. 

1846. — Mexican war declared; Governor Brown called for two 
thousand eight hundred volunteers, and thirty thousand volun- 
teered; Gideon J. Pillow, Brigadier-General of Volunteers, 
ITnited States Arni}^; Tennessee furnished one regiment of 
Cavalry and three of Infantry to the Mexican war. 

1847. — Twenty-Seventh General Assembly held from October 4 
to February 7, 1848; Georgia Railroad completed to Chatta- 
nooga. 

1848. — Presidential vote: Zachary Taylor, Whig, sixty-four 
thousand seven hundred and five; Lewis Cass, Democrat, 
fifty-eight thousand four hundred and nineteen; Van Buren, 



CHRONOI.OGY OF TKNNKSSEK, 1796-1895. 179 

Free Soil, none; first telegraphic dispatch received in Ten- 
nessee. 

1849. — Twent3^-Eighth General Assembl}' held from October 4 
to February 11, 1850; Neil S. Brown appointed Minister to 
Russia; cholera visited Tennessee, May i ; Tennessee Historical 
Society established. 

1850. — \'isitation of cholera in Tennessee. 

1851. — President Fillmore appointed Luke Lea, Indian Commis- 
sioner; General Assembly held from October 16 to March i, 
1852. 

1852. — Whigs carried Tennessee by one thousand eight hundred 
and eighty majority; Presidential vote: Winfield Scott, Whig, 
fifty-eight thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight; Franklin 
Pierce, Democrat, fifty-seven thousand and eighteen; Hale, 
Free Soil, none; Insane Asylum at Nashville was opened 
March i. 

1853. — General Assembly met in the new Capitol October 3 to 
to March 6, 1854; William Trousdale, Minister to Brazil; John 
L. Marling, Minister to Venezuela. 

1854. — Hphraim H. Foster died at Nashville, September 14. 

1855. — Thirty-First General Assembly met October i to March 
3, 1856; yellow fever visited Tennessee; Philip Lindsley, a 
pioneer educator, died May 25. 

1856. — Government bought the Hermitage for the State for forty- 
eight thousand dollars; Presidential vote: James Buchanan, 
Democrat, seventy-three thousand six hundred and thirty-six; 
Millard Fillmore, sixty-six thousand one hundred and seven- 
teen. 

1857. — Thirty-Second General Assembly held from October 5 to 
March 22, 1858; Aaron V. Brown appointed Postmaster- 
General; Southern Commercial Convention held at Knox- 
ville. 



l8o THE HISTORY OF TKNNESSKE. 

1858. — ^James Williams appointed Minister to Turkey; D. W. 
Ballew and A. L. Burch appointed to run a line between Vir- 
ginia and Tennessee. 

1S59. — Thirty-Third General Assembly met October 3 and ad- 
journed March 29, i860; Governor Aaron V. Brown died 
August 15; Governor James C. Jones died October 29; on 
November 18, Allen A. Hall, editor of the News, killed 
George C. Poindexter, editor of the Union and American, at 
Nashville. 

i860. — Tennessee's Presidential vote: John Bell, Constitutional 
Unionist, sixty-nine thousand two hundred and seventy-four; 
John C. Breckinridge, Democrat, sixty-four thousand and 
seventy-nine; Stephen A. Douglas, Democrat, eleven thousand 
three hundred and fifty; Abraham Lincoln, none. 

1 86 1. — Legislature met, Januar}^ 7, in extra session; June 24, 
Governor Harris declared the State out of the Union; August 
I, members were elected to the Confederate Congress; war 
begins. 

1862. — Battle at Mill Springs, January 18, General Zollicoffer 
killed; Fort Henry fell, February 6; Fort Donelson surren- 
dered, February 16; Legislature met, February 20, in Mem- 
phis; the Federals occupied Nashville, February 25; Andrew 
Johnson commissioned Military Governor by the United States 
Government and took charge March 12; battle of Shiloh, 
April 6-7; Albert Sidney Johnson, commander of Department 
of Tennessee, killed April 6; Fort Pillow fell, June 4; Memphis 
surrended, June 7. 

1863. — Battle of Stone's River, January 1-2; Brigadiers-General 
J. E. Rain killed at Murfreesboro, January i, and Preston 
Smith killed at Chickamauga, September 19; President Lin- 
coln appointed Allen A. Hall, Minister to Bolivia. 

1864, — Union Convention at Nashville, September 5, nominated 



CHRONOLOGY OF TENNESSEE, 1796-1895. 181 

electors pledged to vote for Lincoln and Johnson, they were 
elected but not counted by Congress. 

1865. — The Army of Tennessee, Confederate States of America, 
under General J. K. Johnson, surrendered, April 26, at Greens- 
boro, North Carolina; General E. Kirby Smith surrendered. 
May 26; cavalry force of Lieutenant-General N. B. Forrest, 
under General Dick Taylor, surrendered at Meridian, Missis- 
sippi, May 4; the Constitutional amendments were ratified, 
February 22, by twenty-five thousand two hundred and ninety- 
three for, to fort3^-eight against; Governor Brownlow and the 
Legislature were elected, March 4; Andrew Johnson qualified 
as Vice-President, March 4. 

1866. — Governor Brownlow convened the Legislature, July 4, 
in extra session to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the 
Constitution of the United States, it adjourned July 25, but 
the second session convened from November 5 to March 1 1 , 
1867; Cave Johnson died, at Clarksville, November 23. 

1867. — The negroes obtained the right of suffrage, February 25; 
Thirty-Fifth General Assembly, first session, met October 7 to 
March 16, 1868; Governor W. B. Campbell, born at Nashville, 
February i, 1807, died August 19, 1867. 

1868. — D. B. Cliffe was appointed receiver of Memphis, Clarks- 
ville & Louisville Railroad, January 16, and on July 14, of 
the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad; Legislature met in 
extra session in July: it met again from October 9 to March i, 
1869. 

1869. — Legislature met October 4 to March 5, 1870; first time 
since the war that the Democrats had a majority: Tipton 
elected Superintendent of Public Schools in August. 

1870. — Constitutional Convention met at Nashville from January 
10 to February 23, John C. Brown, President; Constitution 
was ratified, March 26, by ninety-eight thousand one hundred 
and twenty-eight for, to thirty-three thousand eight hundred 



1 82 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

and seventy-two against it; Thirty-Sixth General Assembly, 
second session, met from May 9 to Juh^ 1 1 ; it fixed the number 
of Representatives at sevent5-five. 

1 87 1. — State's debts, fortj-one million eight hundred and sixty- 
three thousand four hundred and six dollars and sixty-nine 
cents; for railroads and turnpikes, thirty-one million three 
hundred thousand four hundred and seventeen dollars and 
fourteen cents; State debt proper, four million eight hundred 
and nineteen thousand five hundred and forty-four dollars and 
twent3^-six cents; bonds indorsed and interest to Januar}' i, 
1872, four million seventy-five thousand and twenty-eight 
dollars; Thomas O'Connor and R. F. I^ooney lease the peni- 
tentiary, November 17; Thirty-Seventh General Assembly, 
first session, met from October 2 to December 16; William 
Morrow, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, ex- 
officio; J. B. Killebrew^ Assistant. 

1872. — Governor Browai convened the Legislature in extra ses- 
sion from March 12 to April i; Governor Trousdale died, 
March 27. 

1873. — Thirty-Eighth General Assembly, first session, held from 
January 6 to March 25; it apportioned the State into Congres- 
sional Districts; John M. Fleming appointed State Superin- 
tendent of Public Schools, March 25. 

1874. — W. Matt Browm appointed Warden of the penitentiary, 
May 7. 

1875. — Thirty-Ninth General Assembly met from January 4 to 
March 24; J. B. Killebrew^ appointed Commissioner of Agri- 
culture, March 6; Leon . Trousdale appointed Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, March 25; Andrew^ Johnson died, July 
31; Horace Maynard appointed Minister to Turkey and served 
till 1880. 

1876. — R. P. Neely appointed receiver of the Mississippi Cen- 
tral & Tennessee Railroad. 



CHRONOLOGY OF TENNKSSKE, 1796-1895. 183 

1877. — Fortieth General Assembly, first session, met from Janu- 
ary I to March 27; first extra session met December 5, and the 
second, December 11; Governor W. C. Brownlow died at 
Knoxville, April 29. 

1878. — Yellow fever raged in West Tennessee. 

1879. — Forty-First General Assembly, first session, held from 
January i to April i ; Leon Trousdale was appointed Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction; J. B. Killebrew appointed Com- 
missioner of Agriculture; December 16, extra ssssion of the 
Legislature met and held to December 24. 

1880. — The Democratic Convention in June named two candi- 
dates fcr Governor; the State Credit faction named John V. 
Wright; the Low Tax faction nominated S. F. Wilson: the 
Republicans nominated Alvin Hawkins, who was elected. 

1 88 1. — Forty-Second General Assembl}', first session, held from 
January 3 to April 7; A. \\\ Hawkins was Commissioner of 
Agriculture; W. S. Doak, Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion; the first extra session of the Legislature held from 
December 7 to 26. 

18S2. — Forty-Second General Assembly, second extra session, 
met from April 6 to 26; third extra session held from April 27 
to May 22. 

1883. — Forty-Third General Assembh', first session, held from 
January i to March 30; J. M. Safford was appointed State 
Geologist. 

1884. — Three Republican Railroad Commissioners were elected, 
November 4, W. W. Murray, A. M. Hughes, and M. J. Con- 
don. 

1885. — Forty- Fourth General x\ssembly. first session, held from 
January 5 to April 9; an extra session met from May 25 to 
June 13 to make appropriations for the year; James D. Porter 
appointed First Assistant Secretary of State of the United 



1 84 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

States; J. D. C. Atkins, United States Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs; Albert Roberts, United States Consul at Hamilton, 
Ontario; Peter Staub, United States Consul at Basle, Switzer- 
land; W. R. Hening, United States Consul at Tegucigalpa, 
Honduras. 



-Peter Turney, W. C. Caldwell, H. H. Uirton, W. C. 
Fowlkes and B. I^. Snodgrass, Democrats, were elected Su- 
preme Judges; August 5, Governor Neil S. Brown died. 

1887. — Forty- Fifth General Assembly, first session, held f;-om 
January 3 to March 29; B. M. Hord appointed Commissioner 
of Agriculture, March 19; F. M. Smith appointed State Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction, April 26. 

1888. — William Park appointed Inspector of Mines to serve until 
April I, "189 1. 

1889. — Hon. Robert Iv. Taylor inaugurated Governor, the second 

term; the Fiftieth General Assembly convened at Nashville 

on the first Monday in January. 
1890. — ^John P. Buchanan elected Governor. 
1 89 1. — Rebellion in the penitentiar}^ occurred; Governor Albert 

S. Marks, died at Nashville, November 4. 
1892. — Peter Turney elected Governor. 
1893. — Remains of Kx-President and Mrs. Polk were removed 

to the Capitol campus. 
1894. — Democratic Supreme Judges were elected. 
1895. — Election contest between Turney and Evans for Governor; 

Evans was qualified, February 6, and thus for a while two 

Governors existed. 



Historical Readings. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE — ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH. 

1. The institution of African slavery is so intimately connect- 
ed with the history of Tennessee and has been so closel}^ inter- 
woven with her civilization, that a brief account of its origin, its 
growth and its sudden abolition should be recorded, not for crim- 
ination or exculpation, but that the truth of history may be vin- 
dicated. Facts, cold facts, are history, and they never blush to 
be narrated. 

2. Until 1843 African bondage prevailed not only in some of 
the less civilized countries of Europe and South America, but in 
the East Indies, which were under the rule of Great Britain, the 
foremost and most enlightened government in the world. Early 
in this century the slave trade became odious to all philanthro- 
pists, but slavery itself was not. The brutality with which the 
trade was conducted and the "horrors of the middle passage," 
as it was called, had awakened the pity of mankind, and by 
common consent the traffic in Africans and their transportation 
to other countries was prohibited under the severest penalties, 
both in Europe and the United States. 

3. Notwithstanding this, the institution of slavery- continued 
where it had been planted. It not only continued, but was en- 
couraged as a moral agency of civilization, until Wilberforce 
began the agitation for its abolishment in England and her colo- 
nies. But the plant of this great reform was of slow growth, 



THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 1 87 

and emancipation was not entire!}' accomplished until long after 
Wilberforce died. In 1843, the last of the slaves of the English 
colonies were emancipated, and their owners were paid for them 
out of the national treasury. 

4. The sentiment of the people of the United States was against 
slaver}^ and that feeling for a time stronger at the South than at 
the North. The ordinance of 1787 that excluded the institution 
from the northwestern territories was supported b}^ southern 
men. Pennsylvania provided for gradual emancipation. There 
was to them no profit in slavery, but there were fabulous gains 
in the traffic. Hence, they graduall}' disposed of their own 
slaves by sending them south, and in some instances the young 
of their slaves were given awa3\ 

5. But the feeling in the States was generall}- averse to slav- 
ery, and that feeling was for a time stronger at the South than at 
the North. The ordinance of 1787 that excluded the institution 
from the Northwestern Territories was supported by Southern 
men. Pennsylvania provided for gradual emancipation, and as 
late as 1840 her slaves were not all free. In some cases the}' 
were sold for debt. Rhode Island and Connecticut had a few 
left in 1840, New Jerse}- had two hundred and thirty-six in 
in 1850, New York emancipated in 1827. 

6. That the Southern States did not emancipate their slaves 
was owing to a variety of circumstances. The climate of the 
South was suited to the negro, and he seemed to be contented 
and happy there. The Southerners had invested more money 
in slaves than had their Northern brethren. The invention of 
the cotton gin had suddenly stimulated the cultivation of cotton, 
for which the negro was peculiarl}' fitted, and the growth of 
rice, tobacco and sugar cane was equally inviting to his labor. 
But more than all these reasons was the fear that the slaves 
were increasing so rapidly as to put the State in peril if they 
were freed. They were still affected with the same race traits 
that they inherited from barbarian ancestors and it was greatly 



1 88 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

feared that they could not be controlled as freedmen or as 
citizens. 

7. Still there was an intelligent number of our people who 
favored gradual emancipation. This sentiment was slowly but 
surely spreading. Felix Grundy was outspoken as a co-worker 
with the gradual emancipation policy, inaugurated and advo- 
cated by Henry Clay, of Kentucky. This policy would doubt- 
less have been adopted by Tennessee, had her people not 
resented what seemed like attempts to coerce them. Our people 
said: "If you let us alone we may do it, but you cannot drive 
us. We are penned up with these negroes and know where our 
safety lies." 

8. William Lloyd Garrison, of Boston, founded the Anti- 
Slavery party in 1831. Arthur Tappen became its President in 
1 83 1. Much money was expended in magnifying and exagger- 
ating the abuses of slavery. This party declared that all the 
laws of the government that recognized slavery w^ere utterly null 
and void. As they grew stronger and became more aggressive 
their influence steadily increased. In 1844 the Abolitionists 
openly avowed that their object was to effect a dissolution of the 
Union and form a Northern republic. They declared that a 
union with slavery was a league with perdition and a covenant 
with death. They w^ere the first secessionists and they remained 
so until the late Civil War. The troops they furnished and the 
mone}^ they so freely contributed w^ere not for the maintenance 
of the Union, but to effect the freedom of the slaves. In i860 
William H. Seward spoke from Faneuil Hall and said there was 
a higher law than the Constitution. 

9. When Nathaniel Hawthore w^?s asked in 1861 if he was 
not in favor of the war, he replied: "Yes, I suppose so, but 
really I don't see what we have to fight about." It seemed to 
him that the South in seceding had done just what the Aboli- 
tionists desired her to do. This being the case, the intensified 
hostility of this party toward the South^is difficult to explain. 



THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 1 89 

Only a few years had elapsed since New England had emanci- 
pated the slaves they had not sold. It was less than twenty 
years since England had emancipated hers, and neither Ten- 
nessee nor any of her sister States was ready for the change. 
Was this cry for abolition an earnest sympathy for the slaves, or 
political hatred for their masters? Or was it both — for, as Judge 
Tourgee says in his "Fool's Errand" : "The South has controlled 
the government for fifty years. ' ' Many politicians at the North 
were jealous, jealous to exasperation, and slavery was but the 
shibboleth that intensified their animosity. Even in New Eng- 
land there were men who made no war upon the slave trade, but 
rather winked at it and enjoyed its rich' returns. This is not an 
idle assertion, but an established fact, if Northern historians are 
to be believed. 

10. In 1820 Justice Story, the great jurist, charged the grand 
juries of his New England circuit in the following words: "We 
have but too many undeniable proofs from unquestionable sources 
that the African slave trade is still carried on among us with all 
the implacable ferocity and insatiable rapacity of former times. 
Avarice has grown more subtle in its invasion of the law. It 
watches and seizes its prey with an appetite quickened rather 
than suppressed. American citizens are steeped up to their very 
mouths in this iniquity." 

11. W. W. Story, his gifted son, in writing the biography of 
his father, says: "The fortunes of many men of prominence were 
secretly invested in this infamous practice. Slavery itself had 
hardly disappeared in New England when the slave trade took 
on new life and was winked at. A man might still have position 
in society and claim consideration as a gentleman, nay, as a 
Christian, while his ships were freighted with human cargo and 
his commerce was in the blood and pain of his fellow creatures. 
This practice was abstracth' inveighed against, but was secretly 
indulged in. The chances of great fortunes inflamed the cupidity 
of men in my father's circuit. It is notorious that many large 



I90 THK HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

fortunes were the blood money of the slave trade, and owed their 
existence to the wretched cargoes that survived the horrors of 
the middle passage. But this charge of my father to the grand 
juries of Massachusetts and Rhode Island seemed only to arouse 
the passions of those engaged in the traffic. The newspapers of 
the day publicly denounced my father, and one paper in Boston 
declared that any judge who would deliver such a charge ought 
to be hurled from the bench." 

12. And so the traffic went on unmolested. Still there were 
no prosecutions. The navies of the world seemed to be asleep, 
or, perhaps, the traffic was still winked at by the owners of the 
merchantmen that traversed the seas. 

13. This much has been recorded to show to the youths of 
this generation that neither Tennessee nor the South was respon- 
sible for slavery, nor for the traffic in slaves across the seas, for 
from 1776 down to the present time, there was but a single 
attempt made by a Southern man to introduce African slaves 
into a Southern port, and that attempt was a failure. A small 
yacht, called the "Wanderer," was seized and condemned and 
her officers were pursued with unrelenting vigor by a Southern 
man, General Henry R. Jackson, who was then Assistant 
Attorney-General of the United States. 

14. But, after all, slavery was really the provoking cause of 
the late unhappy war between the States. Tennessee seceded 
from the Union not because she desired to perpetuate slavery, 
but rather because she could not maintain what she believed to 
be her rights under the Constitution. She desired an outlet in 
the Territories for the disposition of her slaves, for their rapid 
increase was alarming. She believed that it was perilous to 
emancipate, and vStill more perilous to await results. Those of 
her citizens who were not slave owners were rapidly emigrating 
to the West. The most thoughtful men in Tennessee, particu- 
larly those advanced in years, saw and felt the. peril of their 
situation. Secession meant war, and to remain in the Union 



THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. I9I 

was to be imprisoned by State lines with an inferior race 
that might become a danger and a menace. A few slaves had 
been manumitted and sent to Liberia, but the result was bad, 
very bad. 

15. The common people of the vSouth, the yeomanry, the 
toilers, were no lovers of the negro. They realized that he was 
in their way. The slave-holders owned the best of the land, 
lived in fine houses, and had the best stock, the best tools, and 
the best vehicles, while the toilers had to take what they could 
get. No wonder they were jealous of the institution. And yet 
these men, poor, and struggling for a livelihood, did not hesitate 
to shoulder their rifles and hurry to their countr3^'s call. "My 
country, right or wrong," was their motto. 

16. Anti-slaver}^ was not a predominant sentiment in the North 
outside of New England. The cry of the West and of most of 
the North was, "The Union, it must be preserved. " General 
Grant, whom the North idolized and honored, was himself a 
slave-owner, and lived off their hire in St. Louis until freedom 
came. vSome of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln's kindred in Kentucky 
were slave-owners, and her brother served as a staff officer in 
the Confederate army. Mr. Lincoln himself declared that he 
signed the Emancipation Proclamation only as a war measure 
to suppress the rebellion, as it was called, and to save the 
Union. He repeatedly refused to take such a step, though 
urged by the members of his Cabinet to do so. General Fre- 
mont, in August, 1861, issued a military order that emancipated 
the slaves of rebels in ^lissouri. Mr. Lincoln promptly revoked 
this order. 

17. In May, 1862, General Hunter issued a similar order, 
declaring all slaves in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida for- 
ever free. When Mr. Lincoln heard of it he immediately issued 
a proclamation declaring it void, and in his letter to Horace 
Greeley, in August, 1862, he said: "My paramount object is to 
save the I'nion, and not either to save or to destrov slaverv. If 



192 THE HISTORY OF TENNKSSKK. 

I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do 
it. If I could do it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, and 
if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I 
w^ould do that. ' ' 

1 8. In the minds of both Lincoln and Grant there was but 
little sentiment concerning slavery as an institution, but after 
the emancipation they A^ery naturally accepted all the honor 
which the North and England showered down upon them and 
entered heartily into plans for the safe adjustment of the matters 
that the sudden enfranchisement involved. 

19. Such, my young friends, were the causes and consequences 
of the institution of slavery in Tennessee. For half a century it 
had proved a blessing to both races. A blessing to the negro 
because it had brought him from a savage state to semi- 
civilization, and had elevated his children and given them a 
chance to live as human beings and to worship God as Chris- 
tians. A blessing to the white race because it cleared up the 
forests, advanced agriculture and built railroads. But, as the 
years rolled on, it seemed to be manifest that the institution 
had run its course, and that the time was near when it 
would cease to be a blessing to either race. Long before the 
war its doom was inevitable, for even had secession succeeded 
slavery could not have been maintained against the convictions 
of the unfriendly North and of the nations that sympathized 
with it. 

20. Why this wonderful change in the status of four million 
slaves had to be baptized in blood and in tears to make it a 
reality, is known only to that Providence who doeth all things 
well. We might as well ask why Cain was permitted to kill 
Abel, or why Napoleon was permitted to ravage Europe and 
destroy millions of lives. 

21. But the negro was safe during the entire struggle. 
Whether he remained at home or fled he was in no danger. He 
seemed to have no deep concern about his freedom or a continu- 



THE CONDITION OF THE NEGRO AS A SLAVE. 1 93 

ation of his bondage. Thousands of them followed their 3'oung 
masters in the war, and many of them were captured, but few 
remained in the Northern lines. "Gwine back to Dixie," 
was their song. Never was such mutual affection shown 
between master and servant; never such proof that in the main 
the master was kind and the servant loyal. During the four 
bloody years when our men were in the field and their wives, 
mothers and daughters were unprotected at home, not a single 
act of violence was heard of from the Potomac to the Rio 
Grande. As General Jackson so beautifully said: "The}- de- 
vServe a monument that should reach the stars, and on it I would 
inscribe, 'To the loyalty of the slaves of the Confederate States 
during the years 1862, '63 and '64.' " 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE CONDITION OF THE NEGRO AS A SLAVE. 

I . An influential number of the Northern people were Fed- 
eralists from principle. That is, they were followers of Alexan- 
der Hamilton, who wanted a strong central government, and 
would prefer to wipe out State lines and State rights rather than 
not have it. Mau}^ of these ambitious men were political enemies 
of the South because Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Calhoun, 
Jackson and other Southern men remained in power so long and 
controlled the patronage of the Government. But the enmity of 
the common people arose from a sympathy for the negro. They 
knew nothing about him or his condition, for the}' never visited 
lis, but they believed all that the political leaders told them. 
When the war came they rushed into it with an intense excite- 
ment. They expected the slaves to welcome them at the border 
with their hands outstretched and to join with them in a strike 
for their own freedom. 



194 'I^HE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

2. But this sympathy for the slave, which armed so many 
men and gathered so much money, had no substantial founda- 
tion, for there was no happier race of people upon earth than the 
negroes of the South. Their average condition was infinitely 
better than that of the poor who lived in the slums of the great 
cities of the North. They had all the necessaries of life and 
many of its comforts, and in the main were more independent 
and had less care, less responsibilit}' than their masters. Young 
negroes grew up to manhood with the children of their master, 
frolicked with them by day and hunted with them by night. 
They had their corn-shuckings, their harvest suppers and their 
Christmas dances, and their merry laugh was alw^ays heard, in 
the field by day and at the fireside by night. The masters were 
almost universally kind — kind from good policy if nothing else. 
It was as much to their interest to keep their slaves in good con- 
dition as it was to protect and nourish their horses and cows. 
It was rare to see a puny, sickl}^ negro child, or one that was 
malformed or diseased. Corn bread, pot liquor, big hominy and 
plent}^ of grease saved doctors' bills. There was a trusting 
companionship between the young people of both races, but the 
color line was drawn and dominion was on one side and obedi- 
ence on the other. 

3. All the great writers on political economy agree, that a 
healthy increase of population depends mainly upon the thrift 
and contentment of the people. Never did a race increase faster 
than the slaves of the South. Nowhere was such ripe old age 
to be found among the parents. Good food was abundant on 
the plantations and comfortable clothing came from the home- 
made loom and spinning-wheel. Negro infants and children 
were alwa3'S cared for by their master and mistress, and so were 
the aged ones who had served out their day and were too old 
to work. Simple medicines and good ph3^sicians were near, 
and the negro was almost without care or apprehension. The 
marriage relation was enforced among them and divorces were 



THK CONDITION OF TH?: NEGRO AS A SLAVE. 1 95 

almost unknown. They multiplied rapidly, in many cases the 
parents living to see more than a hundred descendants. 

4. One case in Carolina is well authenticated where the 
female ancestor lived to be one hundred and four years old, and 
had, when she died, about one thousand descendants. She 
became a mother at fifteen, had twenty-two children when forty- 
five, and two hundred grandchildren and great-grandchildren 
when seventy-live. Whenever there was cruelty on the part of 
the master, it became a matter of public concern. Neither the 
courts nor the grand juries would tolerate it. Public opinion 
was against it, and the South has always been proud that 
nowhere upon earth were a people to be found who were more 
sensitive to the touch of humanity. Of course there were many 
bad negroes, and bad negroes had to be punished, and they were 
sometimes put upon the block and sold, but as a general rule 
families were kept together, and when their master died and 
a division had to be made among the children, they were 
divided by families. If they were sold by the administrator to 
pay debts, they were sold by families, and in most cases they 
had chosen their masters before the sale. Separation of families 
was the exception and a rare occurrence. In the main, the 
relation of master and slave was one of tenderness and human- 
ity. Let these facts go down into history and our people be 
vindicated. 

5. But every distinct race of human beings has its peculiar 
traits. The Indian is marked for the strength of his friendship 
and his undying revenge. He will travel miles to reward a 
friend who has been kind to him, and he will do the same thing 
to take revenge upon an enem3\ The negro will do neither. 
His animal passion and appetites are strong, but his resentment 
and his sense of gratitude for favors are weak. He has but a 
limited idea of conscience, and less of remorse. He is a faithful 
and willing servant, a good companion, a trusty messenger, and 
he enjoys an emotional religion that condones every offence and 



196 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

makes him happ3\ The race traits of the full blooded African 
for pilfering were known to their old masters in slavery times, 
and were kept under restraint by reasonable punishment. A 
propensity to small pilfering or "taking things" as they call it, 
seems to be born in the negro. With but few exceptions, the 
confidential servants, the cooks, the nurses, the house boys and 
the waiting maids, will "take things" from their employers. 
Their religion does not prevent it. A large per cent, of the 
negro criminals are members of the church. Education does not 
eradicate it. Indeed, the kind of education they get seems rather 
to stimulate it. The old negroes who were trained while in 
bondage by good masters, are not in the chain gang, and it is 
pitiful to hear them lament in sorrow over the sins of their 
children. 

6. It is safe to say that five times the present number would 
be in the chain gang if the laws were strictly enforced against 
the rising generation. But the}^ are not. Town marshals and 
employers are kind to them and make no prosecutions for the 
petty thefts that occur in every family that hires a negro. The 
penitentiery report shows that no small per cent, of the negro 
convicts are serving their second term for a repetition of the 
crime for which they were first punished. It is indeed alarming 
that the number of criminals is on the increase. The rate far 
outruns the increase in population. 

7, And yet many of these crimes are not heinous nor malicious, 
for the negro rarel}- steals very valuable things, knowing them 
to be valuable. It is wdth him a race trait and is even more 
marked than the trait which inclines the white race to cheat, or 
overreach, or deceive in trading. The difference is that the 
negro suffers less shame at being caught, and neither his reli- 
gious standing nor his social position is disturbed. This trait 
was kept subdued when the negroes were in slavery. In the old 
times the master adjusted the larceny business at home, just as 
he settled the sins of his children. But there were no chains. 



THE CONDITION OF THE NEGRO AS A SLAVE. 197 

no manacles, no starvation, no bloodhounds; no stripes that put 
the offender's life in peril. I^ook at the old-time negroes who 
are still left us as witnesses, and listen to their praises of their 
old masters and mistresses, and of their young master who went 
to the war. 

8. Their natural contentment and total lack of apprehension 
about the future is another race trait, and is as marked as the 
discontent, the restlessness and the ambition of the white race. 
This trait will forever keep them from amassing wealth, and 
from securing any appreciable degree of independence. They 
will continue to be servants and vassals of the superior race. 
Education has not improved their industry or their morals. Just 
as a higher education has unfitted many of the whites for the 
ordinary callings and occupations of life, so has it unfitted a 
much larger proportion of the negro race for the labor for 
which their muscular forms seem by nature best fitted. It is 
well, probably, that all people have a chance to soar among 
the stars, but few can ever reach them, and the edict of the 
Garden is still in force: "By the sweat of thy brow shaft thou eat 
bread." 

9. The survivors of the slaves and their decendants are 
with us yet, and but for the continued and persistent efforts of 
some Northern politicians to use them for political advantages, 
they would be better contented with their condition. They 
have been sorely tempted, sorely tried, but have at last realized 
that the North does not want them as neighbors, and that their 
best and only friends are to be found nearer home. They now 
constitute a large per cent, of the population of our State. 
Those on the farms who live and labor under the control and 
assistance of generous landlords, suffer no want, have the 
privileges of free public schools, and churches, and are seem- 
ingly well contended with their condition. Those who have 
gathered in the large cities, have as a general rule acquired all 
the vices that a crowded population naturally engenders, and 



198 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

from these cities come most of the convicts that make up the 
colored army in our chain gangs. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

WHY TENNKSSKK WITHDREW FROM THE UNION. 

1. About the year 1850, the utterances of Northern philan- 
thropists against slavery became more manifest and there began 
to be heard mutterings and threats. Unscrupulous politicians 
always seek a hobby whereon to ride into power. The}^ manu- 
facture great wrongs and outrages, and feed the prejudices of 
the common people. All admit that this element was not want- 
ing in the North, and ~was no doubt responsible in part for the 
formation of a sectional party, branching out under different 
names, such as the Disunion party, the Republican party, the 
Friends of Freedom, and the Abolition party, all of which came 
to be known, in 1856, as the Republican part}^ This was the 
first sectional party in the history of the Union. Garrison and 
Phillips, the New England agitators, were for disunion. Garri- 
son had a public burning of the Constitution, and in a Fourth 
of July speech, said, "The Union is a lie; let us up with the flag 
of disunion." 

2. Phillips said, "The Constitution of our fathers was a mis- 
take. Let us tear it to pieces and make a better one. ' ' The 
excitement over Kansas thoroughh^ aroused all the anti-slavery 
elements. Emigrant societies were organized to fill up that 
territory and keep it from being made a slave State. Large 
sums of money were raised. Arms and ammunition were pur- 
chased, and large companies of men were dispatched. A prom- 
inent leader in Kansas was the notorious John Brown, who was 
afterwards hanged in Virginia for his attack upon Harper's 
Ferry. Though men have differed widely about John Brown, 



WHY TENNESSEE WITHDREW FROM THE UNION. 1 99 

we cannot look upon him as anything but a fanatic, desperate 
and at least half mad. At this time even the churches were 
not slow to incite bloodshed. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher de- 
clared from his pulpit that Sharp's Rifles were better than 
Bibles, and that "it was a crime to shoot at a slaveholder and not 
hit him. ' ' 

3. The North was everywhere being educated for the war. 
Joshua Giddings, of Ohio, another prominent leader, said: "I 
look forward to the day when I shall see a servile insurrection in 
the South, when the black man, supplied with bayonets, shall 
wage a war of extermination against the whites, when the master 
shall see his dwelling in flames and his hearth polluted, and 
though I may not mock at their calamity, yet I shall hail it as 
the dawn of a political millennium." The "Helper Book," cf 
three hundred pages, was published as a campaign document. 
It was full of such anthemas as "Slave-holders are more criminal 
than murderers," and "The negroes will be delighted at the 
opportunity to cut their masters' throats." 

4. Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts, attended a public meet- 
ing where it was re.solved "that it is the duty of the Northern 
people to incite the slaves to resistance." Horace Greele}' said, 
', History will accord an honorable niche to old John Brown," 
and Emerson said that "John Brown's gallows was as glorious 
as the cross. ' ' Now all this time General Grant was a slave- 
owner, and lived off their hire. Lincoln's kindred in Kentucky 
were slave-owners, and the slaves of the South were working 
peacefully and happily in the fields by day, hunting or fishing 
by night, making brooms or foot mats or baskets, perhaps play- 
ing marbles at noon, or seining on Saturday evenings, and as 
innocent of all this excitement as children unborn. But the 
crusade went on. The zeal of the abolitionists was unrelent- 
ing. 

5. In 1852 Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, sister ot the Rev. 
Henry Ward Beecher, wrote a book called "Uncle Tom's 



200 run HISTORY OF TKNNKSSEJE. 

Cabin," which was intended to fire the Northern heart against 
slavery, and such was the pitiful .story told that it succeeded 
beyond her most sanguine expectations. This romance was in 
no respect a typical relation of the condition of the Southern 
slave, but the Northern people believed it and set the Southerners 
down as barbarians who knew no mercy. The pulpit and the 
press took up the book and it was made at the time a text for the 
philanthopist and a weapon for the politicians. The common 
people, who in the main were sincere though ill-informed, be- 
lieved all that was said or written against the South, and when 
the war began the}^ were ripe for the conflict. But few of the 
Northern people had ever visited the South and remained long 
enough to witness and understand the true relation of the slave 
to the master. 

6. Those who came to stay soon comprehended it and were 
reconciled to the patriarchial relation, and grew to be our fast 
and lasting friends. They either hired or owned slaves, and 
when the war came they affiliated with us and sustained and 
supported us heroically against the invasions and exactions of 
their Northern brethren. There was hardly an exception to 
this in all the land, and these men were generally of the highest 
order of intelligent manhood. They were the presidents of our 
colleges, the teachers of our schools, the editors of our news- 
papers. Some of them were upon the bench of our highest 
courts, and some were our foremost pulpit orators. The}^ re- 
monstrated and entreated, but their pleadings were in vain. 
Never was an institution more misunderstood, never a good 
people so maligned. Between the cries of "The Union, the 
Union," "The Slave, the Slave," the South suddenly realized 
that she had no friends beyond her limits, and must befriend and 
defend herself. 

7. As for the battle cry of "The Union," the South could see 
nothing in it but a theory and a threat of force. In the opinion 
of the ablest men of the South and many in the North, the 



WHY TENNESSEE WITHDREW PROM THE UNION. 20I 

thirteen original States came together in a compact, a co- 
partnership for mutual protection against foreign foes. It was 
never conceived that they could not separate for cause, when 
the cause came. This question has now been settled b}^ force, 
but the South recognizes that the results of the war have settled 
it against the doctrine of State rights as maintained by Calhoun, 
Toombs, and hundreds of the greatest and best writers on this 
question. 

8. Jefferson had said, "The States may withdraw their dele- 
gated powers." Madison said, "The States themselves must 
be the judges whether the bargain has been preserved or 
broken." Chief Justice Chase said, "If a State should with- 
draw and resume her powers, I know of no remedy to prevent 
it." Edward Everett said, "To expect to hold fifteen States in 
the Union by force is prep'osterous. If our sister States must 
leave us, in the name of Heaven let them go." Horace Greeley 
said in the New York Tribune, three da3'S before South Caro- 
lina seceded, "The Declaration of Independence justifies her 
in doing so," and after other States had also seceded he said, 
"Wayward sisters, depart in peace." It was not treason, and 
when it was proposed to try Jefferson Davis after the close of 
the war for high treason, the greatest lawyers of the North 
advised against it, and assured the Government that he could 
not be convicted, for no one could be convicted of treason for 
seceding. 

9. The South saw that it was useless to crj^ peace when there 
was no peace. Compromise after compromise had been offered 
by such men as Crittenden and Douglas and other conservative 
statesmen, but all were rejected, and at last, when Lincoln was 
elected President on a sectional platform, and while the North 
was singing, "John Brown's body lies mouldering in the 
grave," the Southern members withdrew from the Congress of 
the nation and came home for counsel. It seemed that it was 
better to separate in peace than to remain longer in discord. 



202 THE HISTORY OP TENNESSEE. 

South Carolina was the first to break the chain, and Tennessee 
soon followed. The Southern people did not doubt the right 
of secession, but many good men doubted its policy. Even 
Daniel Webster, the great expounder, said in his last great 
speech at Capon Springs the year before he died, "I repeat 
that if the Northern States refuse wilfully and deliberately to 
carry into effect that part of the Constitution which respects the 
restoration of fugitive slaves, and Congress provides no remedy, 
the South would not longer be bound to observe the compact. 
A bargain cannot be broken on one side and still bind the other 
side." 

lo. The Northern States did refuse and Congress provided no 
remedy. Hence the Southern States withdrew from the Union, 
withdrew peacefully, claiming nothing but what was on their 
soil, and leaving to the North the capital and all the nation's 
treasures. This secession resulted speedily in a war, a horri- 
ble, and a terrible war, but the negro did not cut his master's 
throat nor defile his hearthstone. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE COMMON PEOPIvE AND THE ARISTOCRACY. 

1. Before the late civil war there were two distinct types of 
Anglo-Saxon civilization occupjdng the Southern States, and 
especially those States lying east of the Mississippi River. 
They were the common people and the aristocrac3^ While 
these two classes intermingled and sometimes intermarried, the 
line was plainl}^ marked and seemed to grow more visible as the 
3^ears rolled on. The institution of slaver}^ helped to keep it 
bright. 

2. It was not a line between the poor and rich, nor between 
the ignorant and the educated, nor between slave-holders and 



THE COMMON PEOPLE AND THE ARISTOCRACY. 203 

non-slave-holders. It was .not a political line dividing the 
Whigs from the Democrats, but nevertheless it was a line which 
all of these helped to make, and it gradually grew into one of 
social equality, or inequality. The toilers did not often mate 
with the aristocrats nor intrude upon them socially. Indeed, 
they occupied for the most part, different sections of the State, 
the common people settling in the mountain region, while the 
wealthier class lived in Middle or West Tennessee, where their 
slaves could grow cotton and tobacco to advantage. 

3. These common people had settled down in advance of the 
schoolmaster and long before railroads were built, so their 
children grew^ up without education, and their only chance for 
learning was a mother's love and solicitude. She would teach 
them all that she had not forgotten — she always does. The 
father may be educated but he will not trouble himself to teach 
his children. He is too busy by day, and too tired at night. 
Before the war there were in Tennessee at least two generations 
that had grown up with but a limited education — in fact, with 
none to speak of, for it was rare to find a man among them who 
could read or write. It was history repeating itself. Daniel 
Boone could read, but his children could not. The year before 
the war the percentage of illiteracy in Tennessee was appalling. 
The itinerant preacher had been there, but not the school- 
master. The illiterate and rude people had been taught how^ to 
live and how to die. Their morals had been preserved but not 
their manners. 

4. The cotter's Saturday night in old Scotland was not more 
humbly devotional than the gathering of these rough people at 
the log church on a Sabbath morning. There were none to 
molest or make them afraid. They came as best they could — on 
foot, on horseback, or in the farm- wagon. The}^ came in 
families, parents and children. They sat upon the puncheon 
seats and devoutly listened as the preacher stretched forth his 
arms and said: "Let us worship God." It is a lasting tribute 



204 THE HISTORY OF TKNNKSSEE, 

to these good people that while their percentage of illiterac}^ was 
distressing, their percentage of crime was meager. In portions 
of the North where illiterac}- is from four to six per cent., crime 
seems to have increased in an inverse ratio, for as illiteracy 
decreases crime increases, unless morality and religion are taught 
in the schools. 

5. And so since the war, when railroads and revenue laws 
have penetrated the homes of these people, crime has been on 
the increase, and the moonshiner has become an outlaw. There 
was a time when his father and his grandfather distilled their 
fruit in a limited and honest way, and worshipped God, and 
violated no law. There was a time when there was no locks on 
their doors, and the stranger always found a welcome — a time 
when there were no hip pockets for deadly weapons, when jails 
were empty, and half the w^eek was sufficient to clear the court 
house docket. 

6. There w^as a time when these men so loved their country 
that on the first alarm they picked their flints, shouldered their 
rifles and hurried to General Jackson's call; or, later, to fight 
the Indians in Florida; or, still later, to old Virginia to defend 
what they believed to be their rights under the Constitution. 
What a mistake to say these men were fighting for slavery, 
when not one of them in a hundred ever owned a slave. But 
they fought. They fought, as their forefathers had done before 
then, when resisting the imposition of a little tax on tea, 
though not one in a thousand drank it. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE COMMON PEOPLE AND THE ARISTOCRACY. CONTINUED. 

I. The aristocracy of the South was before the war mainly 
an aristocracy of wealth, education and dominion. Either of 



THE COMMON PEOPLE AND THE ARISTOCRACY. 205 

these gives power and influence. All of them combined lift 
a man above the toilers and command their respect as well as 
their envy. The aristocrats were generally gentlemen of educa- 
tion, refinement, manners and a sentiment of adjusting personal 
conflicts by the code of honor. Money helps to establish their 
title, of course, but it is not absolutely essential. Indeed, it is 
possible that there are rich common people and poor aristocrats. 
The results of the war developed many of both classes. Our 
cities are full of the former, and they are generally the leading 
men in mercantile business and industrial pursuits. The old 
time aristocrats esteemed themselves to be gentlemen, and gen- 
erally they were. They were of good stock and thoroughbred. 
Whether one was riding or walking you could tell him by his 
carriage — by the vehicle he rode in or the measured dignity with 
which he walked about. 

2. That vehicle was an unique as a Chinaman's palanquin. 
It did not rest on elliptical springs, but was swung high be- 
tween four half circles, and the dickey, or driver's seat, was 
perched still* higher, and the driver's bell-crowned hat was the 
first thing that came in sight as the equippage rose into view 
from over a distant hill. There were two folding staircases to 
this vehicle and nobody but an aristocratic lady could ascend or 
descend them with aristocratic grace. The gentleman who was 
born and bred to this luxury was a king in his way — limited it 
is true, but nevertheless a king. His house was not a palace, 
but it was large and roomy, having a broad hall and massive 
chimneys and a verandah ornamented with tall Corinthian 
columns. This mansion was generally situated in a grove of 
venerable oaks. It was set back from one hundred to two 
hundred yards from the big road, and the lane that led to its 
hospitable gate was enfiladed with cedars or lombardy poplars. 
Fragments of the cedars are still left, but the poplars died 
with the old South. They died at the top very like their 
owners. 



2o6 THK HISTORY OF TKNNKSSKE). 

3. Prominent in the rear of this mansion was the old gin 
house with the spacious circus ground underneath where the 
horses vv^ent round and round under the great cog-wheels, and 
the little darkies rode on the beams and popped their home- 
made whips. Not far away were the negro cabins and the 
orchard and the big family garden, and all around were fowls 
atid pigs and pigeons and honey bees and hound dogs and picka- 
ninnies to keep things livel}^ The owner of this plant was a 
gentleman and was so regarded by the neighbors. He was a 
nobleman without the title of nobilit}^ He had been through 
college and to New York and to Saratoga and had come back 
and married another gentleman's daughter and settled down. 
The old folks on both sides had given them a start and built 
the mansion and sent over a share of the family negroes to mul- 
tiply and replenish. 

4. He dressed well and carried a gold-headed cane and a 
massive watch and chain that were made of pure gold at 
Geneva. There was a seal attached — a heavy prismatic seal 
that had his monogram. The manner in which he toyed with 
this chain and seal was one of the visible signs of a gentleman. 
It was as significant as the motion of a lady's fan. The old 
gentleman's "company suit" was a navy blue swallow-tail coat 
ornamented with plain brass buttons that were kept bright and 
burnished, a pair of trousers to match and a white Marseilles 
waistcoat. When these were set off with a beaver hat, a ruffled 
shirt and a bandana handkerchief, the visible make-up of the 
gentleman was complete. 

5. Most of these old-time gentlemen kept what was called 
open house, and all who came were welcome. There was no 
need to send word that you were coming, for food and shelter 
were always ready. The old gentleman called for Dick or 
Jack or Caesar to come and take the horses, put them up and 
feed them. There was plenty of corn and fodder in the crib, 
plenty of big fat hams and leaf-lard in the handy smoke-house, 



THE COMMON PKOPLK AND THE ARISTOCRACY. 207 

plenty of turkeys and chickens in the back yard, plenty of 
preserves in the pantry, plenty of trained servants to attend to 
all the work while the lady of the house entertained her wel- 
come guests. How proud were those family servants to show 
off before the visitors and display their accomplishments in the 
kitchen, the dining-room and the bed-chamber. They shared 
the family standing in the community and had but little respect 
for what they called the "poor white trash" of the neighbor- 
hood. 

6. This old-time gentleman had a rich man's way even 
though he was financially embarrassed. His name was in the 
grand jury box, never in the petit jury box. That would have 
been an indignity that would have been resented. There was 
no line of demarkation between the common people and the 
aristocracy that was more rigidly drawn than the one that 
separated the grand jury from the petit jury. The aristocrats 
not only held all the prominent offices, but they were colonels 
and majors of the militia. Almost all of the professional men 
came from this aristocratic stock. They were generally Whigs 
in politics, and were the patrons of high schools and colleges, 
and stocked the learned professions with an annual crop of 
graduates who were intensely loyal to Henry Clay, Fillmore, 
Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, John Bell, and the code of 
honor. They had wealth, dignity and leisure, and Solomon 
says that in leisure there is wisdom, and so these men became 
our law-makers, our jurists, and our statesmen, and they 
were the shining lights in the councils of the nation. But it 
was an aristocracy that was exclusive. It had shut out and 
overshadowed the masses of the common people, just as a broad 
spreading oak overshadows and withers the undergrowth be- 
neath it. 

7. Of course these aristocrats were not all Whigs. There 
were many distinguished exceptions, such as the Jacksons, the 
Johnsons and the Grundys, who were Democrats, though of 



208 THK HISTORY OF TENNKSSKE. 

aristocratic birth. General Jackson was an illustrious statesman 
who come up from among the common people to stay with them 
and to lead them, as Moses led the children of Israel. His 
whole political life was a fight against monopolies, and the 
power and corruption that come from large fortunes and favor- 
itism. 

8. The result of the war was a fearful fall to the aristocracy 
of Tennessee. They lost many of their noble sons in the army, 
and their property soon after. The extent of their misfortunes 
no one will ever know, for "the heart only knoweth its own 
bitterness." Many of them suffered and were strong, but the 
majority gave up to despondency and their children w^ere left 
to scuffle for themselves. The collapse to them was awful. 
They had not been raised to exercise self-denial or economy, 
and it was humiliating in the extreme for them to have to 
descend to the level of the common people. But they did it, 
and did it heroically. And so in the course of time this line 
of demarkation between the common people and the old 
aristocracy began to fade. Finally it passed away. A new 
and a hardier stock came to the front, that class which before 
the war was under a cloud. The results of the war made an 
opening for them and developed their latent energies. With 
no high degree of culture, they nevertheless proved equal to 
the struggle up the rough hill of life, and began to build up 
what the war had pulled down. They began at the bottom, 
just where the war found them and w^here it left them. They 
had been reared to work, and their practical energy w^as soon 
followed by thrift and a general recovery of wasted fields and 
fenceless farms. 

9. These men now constitute, in the main, the solid men of 
the State, and have contributed largely to the building up of 
schools and churches and factories and railroads. They are the 
modern self-made Southerners, a class that forms a striking con- 
trast to the dignity and repose of the old patriarchs whose beau- 



HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. 209 

tiful homes adorned the hills and groves of the South before the 
war. But the children of these old patriarchs had to come down 
some, and the children of the common people came up some, 
and they have met upon a common plain, and are now working 
happily together, both in social and business life. Spirit and 
blood have united with energy and muscle and it makes a good 
team — the best all-round team the South has ever had. 



Historical Recreations. 



1 . What is the area of Tennessee ? Population ? 

2. How many counties in this State? Congressional Districts? 

3. Who are your County officers? How elected? 

4. Name the functions of our officers. 

5. Name and define the departments of our government. 

6. How does the County Court and Legislature differ? 

7. Name and describe original tribes of Indians. 

8. What of their manners and customs? 

9. Name the first permanent settlement in the State. 

10. Name twelve prominent pioneers. Twenty Governors. 

11. What do you esteem in the aborigines? 

12. Mention four cities that have Indian names. 

13. What is the significance of "Tennessee?" 

14. Give motto and popular names of this State. 

15. How were the salaries of the officers of Franklin paid? 

16. Who was the father of East Tennessee? Middle Tennessee? 

17. Why does the State have three divisions? 

18. Name the successive Capitols of the State. 

19. Name ten of the most populous counties. Ten cities. 

20. Whom do you regard our most distinguished man ? Why ? 

21. Name our present vState officers. Give politics. 



2IO THE HISTORY OF TKNNESSEK. 

2 2. Name seven counties from each division of the State. 

22). Why was the State unrepresented in Congress from 1863 to 
1865? 

24. Name three Presidents and three Generals from this State. 

25. Name four railroads and six rivers. Locate them. 

26. What distinguished General advocated dueling? 

27. What was Governor Harris' reply to the President's requisi- 

tion for troops? 

28. What Congressman accidentally but fatally poisoned him- 

self? 

29. How was the Turney-Evans contest for Governor investi- 

gated ? 

30. How did Governor Brownlow repel his opponents in a cam- 

paign ? 

31. What caused the State debt? How settled? 

32. Name the politics of our Governors. What is politics? 

33. What is the object of the State Constitution? 

34. Why does the Senate confirm appointments? 

35. Describe old time camp meetings. 

36. Compare Generals Sevier and Tipton. 

37. Why did P'ranklin fail? 

38. What did its Constitution prohibit? Why? 

39. What made Reconstruction odious? 

40. How will Tennessee compare with other States? 

41. What was the War of the Roses? 

42. Name seven keenly contested battles. 

43. What and where is the Hermitage? 

44. lyocate the tombs of ten Governors. 

45. Where are Jackson, Polk and Johnson buried? 

46. Name and locate four National cemeteries. 

47. Describe the "Battle Above the Clouds." 

48. Name a disastrous penitentiary insurrection. 

49. Mention four State institutions. Locate them. 

50. The present Legislature has how many members? 



APPENDIX 



The Formation of Counties. 




Washington.. Il777 

^Sullivan 11779 

Greene |178.3 

Davidson 1783 

iSuinner 178(5 

Hawkins 1786 

Tennessee 

Jetierson.. 

Knox 

Sevier 

lJl(junt 

( arrer 

Graingor 

Montg(3niery 

Rubertson 

Gocke 

Smith 

Wilson 

Williamson.. 

Anderson 

R'.ane 

(;laihorne 

.Fackson 



17 

1792 
1792 
1794 
179.-. 
1796 
1796 
1796 
1796 
1797 
1799 
1799 
1799 
1801 
1801 
ISO I 
1801 
Dickson 11803 



1803 
11803 



Srewart 

Rutherford 

Gfimpbell J1806 

Overton 1 1806 

White '1806 

Hickman 11807 

Pvhea ,1807 

Hledsoe 1807 



Frank h'n 



1807 



Bedford 1807 1 

Warren ,1807' 

Maury 1807, 

Humphreys...! i809| 

Lincoln |1809! 

(Tiles !l8Qa 

Morgan r817 

Lawrence {1S17 

Marion 1817 

Wayne 1817| 

Hardin 1819, 



Wilkes and P.urke Cos., N. 

VVashingtc»n Co 

Washineton Co 

(xreene Ct» 

Davidson Co 

Sullivan Co 

Davidson Co 

(ireeneand Hawkins Cos 

Greene and Hawkins Cos 

Jefferson Co 

Knox (Jo 

Washington Co 

Hawkins and Knox (Jos 

Tennessee ('o 

Tennessee Co 

.Tefferst»n Co 

Sumner Co 

Sumner Co 

Davidson Co 

Knox and Grainger Cos 

Knox (Jo 

(iraingerand Hawkins Cos 

Smith <'o 

Robertson and Montgomery Cos 

Montgomery Co 

Davidson Co 

Anderson and (Jlaibc^rne (Jos 

.lack.son Co 

Wilson, Smith, .Jackson and Gverton (_'os 

Dickson Co 

Roane Vo 

Koane Co 

Warren and P»edford Cos 

Rutherford Co 

White (o 

Williamson (Jo 

Stewart Co 

Bedford C^o 

iNTaury (Jo 

Koane Co 

Hickman and Maury Cos 

Ciierokee Lands ^ 

Hickn)an and Humphre.vs Cos | 

VV'esiern Dist. under Control of Stewart 
and Wayne Cos ' 



George Washington, 
(ien. ,]ohu Sullivan, 
(ien. Xath. Greetie. 
Gen. Wm. Davidson. 
Col. Jethro Sumner. 

Indian nameTenassee 
I homas .Jefferson, 
(jen. Henry Knox. 
Gov. John Sevier. 
Gov. Wni. Blount, 
(jien. Landon Carter. 
Mary Graineer. 
Col. J no. Montgomery 
(Ten. Jas. Robertson, 
(ien. Wm. Cocke. 
(Jen. Daniel Smith. 
Maj. David Wilson. 
(Jen. Williamson, 
loseph Anderson, 
(lov. Archibald Roane 

Gen. Andrew Jackson 
William Dickson. 
Duncan Stewart. 
(Jen. Rutlierford. 
Col. Arthui Campbell 



Kdmund Hickman. 



Thomas Bedford. 

Abram Maury. 
Parry W. Humphreys 
(Jen. Ben.i. Lincoln, 
(ien. >rm. B. (iiles. 
Gen. Daniel Morgan. -__ 
Com. .Jas. Lawrence. 
(Jen. Francis .\hirion. 
Gen. Anthony Wayne 

Col. Joseph Hardin 



212 



THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 




Monroe 

McMinn 

Perry 

Shelby 

Hamilton 

Henry 

Carroll 

Madison 

Henderson.... 
Hardeman ... 

Haywood 

Dyer 

Gibson 

Weakley 

Fentress 

Obion 

Tipton 

McNairy 

Fayette 

('otfee 

Lauderdale .. 

Benton 

.lohnson 

Meigs 

Cannon 

Marshall 

Bradley 

DeKalb 

Polk 

Van Buren... 

Putnam 

Macon 

Lewis 

Crundy 

Hancock 

Decatur 

Scott 

"Union 



James.... 
Moore... 
Unicoi.. 
Pickett- 
Chester. 



1819!Cherokee Lands 

1811» ( "herokee l^ands 

1819 Hickman Co 

1819 Hardin Co 

Rhea Co 

West. Dist. under control of Stewart Co 

West. Div«t. under control of Stewart Co 

West. J)ist. under control of Stewart ('o 

Vv^est. Dist. under control of Stewart Co 

Hardin Co |Col. T. J. Hardeman 



1819 

1821 

1821 

1821 

1821 

1823 

18231 West. Dist. under control of Stewart Co.. 

1823 West. Dist. under control of Stewart Co... 

1823 West. Dist. under control of Stewart Co... 

1823 West. Dist. under control of Stewart Co... 

1823 Overton and Morgan Cos 

1823 West. Dist. under control of Stewart Co... 
1823' West. Dii<t. under control of Stewart Co... 
1823' West. Dist. under control of Stewart Co... 

1824 Hardeman and Shelby Oos 

1835i Warren, Franklin and Bedford Cos 

1835 
1835 
1835 
1835 
1&35 
1835 
1835 
1837 
1839 
1840 
1842 
1842 
1843 



James Monroe. 
Gov. Jos. McMinn. 
Com. Oliver H. Perry. 
Isaac Shelby. 
Alexander Hamilton. 
Patrick Henry. 
Gov. Wm. Carroll, 
.lames Madison. 



Humphreys and Henry Cos. 
(.'arter Co 



Bedford, Maury. Lincoln and Giles Cos . 



Judge Jno. Haywood. 
Col. Henry Dyer. 
Col. Thomas Gibson. 



From Obion River. 

Jacob Tipton. 

Judge John McNairy. 

Col. Jas. Lauderdale. 
Thomas H. Benton. 

Return J. INIeigs. 
Gov. Newton Cannon. 



Cumberland 



Cheatham... 
Scquatcljie., 

Crockett 

Hamblen... 
Tronsdale .. 

Clay ..., 

Lake 

London 

Houston 



White, Warren, Tlannon, Wilson, Jack'n 

Bradley an'd McMinn Cos . 

White, Warren and Bledsoe Cos 

White, Overton, Jacks'n. Smith, DeKalb 

Smith and Snmner Cos 

Maurv, Lawrence. Wayne and Hickman 

1844 Pranklin, Coffee and Warren Cos 

1844iClaiborne and Hawkins Cos 

1845; Perry Co v\<-w w 

18491 Anderson, Campbell. Fentres", Morgan... 
18501Grainger,t'laiborne. Campbell, Anderson 

I and Knox Cos ^.. ..-, 

1855iWiiite, Van Buren. Bledsoe, Rhea, Mor 

1 gan. Roane and Putnam (Jos 

1856 Davidson, Robertson and Montgomery... 

1857 Hamilton ('o •■•••■■•. 

187(1 Gibson, Haywood. Dyer and Madison — 

1870 Grainger, Jefferson and Hawkins Cos 

187(j:8umner. Macon, Smith and Williamson 
I870j Jackson and Overton Cos 

1870 Obion Co 

18701 Roane, Monroe and Blount Cos 

1871 Dickson, Humphreys, Montgomery and 
1 Stewart Cos 

1871 Hamilton and Bradley Cos 

1S72 Lincoln and Franklin Cos 

1875 Washington and ('arter Cos •. 

1879 Overton and Fentress (-'os 

18791 Madison. Henderson, McNairy and Har- 
I dcman Cos 



Baron DeKalb. 
James K. Polk. 
Martin Van Buren. 
Israel Putnam. 

Meriwether Lewis. 
Felix Grundy. 
John Haneock. 
( 'om. Stephen Decatur 
Gen. Wmheld Scott. 



David Crockett. 
Hezekiah Hamblen. 
Gov. Wm. Trousilale. 
Henry Clay. 
For Obion Lake. 
Fort Loudon. 
Gen. Sam. Houston. 



Jesse J. James. 



-This, as well as several other counties, was not organized for a few years after 
the passage of the act creating it. 



COUNTY SEATS. 213 

County Seats. 

Anderson, Clinton; Bedford, Shelby ville; Benton, Camden; 
Bledsoe, Pikeville; Blount, Marj^ville; Bradley, Cleveland; Camp- 
bell, Jacksboro; Cannon, Woodbur}-; Carroll, Huntingdon; Car- 
ter, Klizabethton; Cheatham, Ashland City; Chester, Henderson; 
Claiborne, Tazewell; Clay, Celina; Cocke, Newport; Coffee, 
Manchester; Crockett, Alamo; Cumberland, Crossville; David- 
son, Nashville; Decatur, Decaturville; DeKalb, Smithville; 
Dickson, Charlotte; Dyer, Dyersburg; Fayette, Somerville; Fent- 
ress, Jamestown; Franklin, Winchester; Gibson, Trenton; Giles, 
Pulaski; Grainger, Rutledge; Greene, Greenville; Grund}^ Alta- 
mont; Hamblen, Morristown; Hamilton, Chattanooga; Hancock, 
Sneedville; Hardeman, Bolivar; Hardin, Savannah; Hawkins, 
Rogersville; Haywood, Brownsville; Henderson, Lexington; 
Henry, Paris; Hickman, Centreville; Houston, Erin; Humph- 
reys, Waverly; Jackson, Gainsboro; James, Ooltewah; Jefferson, 
Dandridge; Johnson, Mountain Cit}- Knox, Knoxville; Lake, 
Tiptonville; Lauderdale, Ripley; Lawrence, Lawrenceburg; 
Lewis, Newburg; Lincoln, Fayetteville; Loudon, Loudon; Mc- 
Minn, Athens; McNairy, Purdy; Macon, Lafa3^ette; Madison, 
Jackson; Marion, Jasper; Marshall, Lewisburg; Maury, Colum- 
bia; Meigs, Decatur; Monroe, Madisonville; Montgomery, 
Clarksville; Moore, Lynchburg; Morgan, Wartburg; Obion, 
Union City; Overton, Livingston; Perry, Linden; Pickett, 
Byrd.stown; Polk, Benton; Putnam, Cookeville; Rhea, Dayton; 
Roane, Kingston; Robertson, Springfield; Rutherford, Murfrees- 
boro; Scott, Huntsville; Sequatchie, Dunlap; Sevier, Sevierville; 
Shelby, Memphis; Smith, Carthage; Stewart, Dover; Sullivan, 
Blountville; Sumner, Gallatin; Tipton, Covington; Trousdale, 
Hartsville; Unicoi, Erwin; Union, Maynardville; Van Buren, 
Spencer; Warren, McMinnville; Washington, Jonesboro; Wayne, 
Waynesboro; Weakley, Dresden; White, Sparta; Williamson, 
F'ranklin; Wilson, Lebanon. 



214 1*HE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 

Governors of Tennessee from 1790. 

1. William Blount, Territorial Governor, 1 790-1 796. Com- 
missioned August 7, 1790. 

2. John Sevier, 1 796-1 801. Inaugurated March 30, 1796. 

3. Archibald Roane, 1 801-1803. Inaugurated September 23, 
1801. 

4. John Sevier, 1803-1809. Inaugurated September 23, 1803. 

5. William Blount, 1809-18 16. Inaugurated September 23, 
1809. 

6. Joseph McMinn, 1815-1821. Inaugurated September — , 

1815. 

7. William Carroll, 1821-1827. Inaugurated October i, 182 1. 

8. Samuel Houston, 1827. Inaugurated October i, 1827. 
Served to April 16, 1829, when he resigned, and William Hall, 
Speaker of the Senate, became Governor, serving to October i, 
1829. 

9. William Carroll, 1829-1835. Inaugurated October i, 1829. 

10. Newton Cannon, 1 835-1 839. Inaugurated October 12, 

1835. 

11. James K. Polk, 1839-1841. Inaugurated October 14, 1839. 

12. JamesC. Jones, 1841-1845. Inaugurated October 14, 184 1. 

13. Aaron V. Brown, 1845-1847. Inaugurated October 15, 
1845. 

14. Neil S. Brown, 1847-1849. Inaugurated October 18, 1847. 

15. William Trousdale, 1 849-1 851. Inaugurated October 15, 
1849. 

16. William B. Campbell, 1 851-1853. Inaugurated October 
16, 1851. 

17. Andrew Johnson, 1 853-1 857. Inaugurated October 17, 

1853- 

18. Isham G. Harris, 1857-1865. Inaugurated November 3, 

1857. Robert Iv. Caruthers was elected Governor in 1863, but 
ou account of Tennessee being in possession of Federal troops. 



STATE OFFICKKS. 215 

was unable to qualif}^ President Lincoln appointed Andrew 
Johnson Military Governor of Tennessee, w^ho served from 1862 
to 1865. 

19. William G. Brownlow, 1 865-1 867. Inaugurated April 5, 
1865. 

20. D. W. C. Senter, 1867-187 1. Inaugurated October 10, 
1867. As Speaker of the Senate succeeded Governor Brownlow^ 
who had resigned to take a seat in the United States Senate. 

21. JohnC. Brown, 1 871-1875. Inaugurated October 10, 1871. 

22. James D. Porter, 1875-1879. Inaugurated January 18, 

1875- 

23. Albert S. Marks, 1879-1881. Inaugurated January 16, 
1879. 

24. Alvin G. Hawkins, 1881-1883. Inaugurated January 17, 
1881. 

25. William B. Bate, 1 883-1 887. Inaugurated January 15, 
1883. 

26. Robert L. Taylor, 1887-1891. Inaugurated January 17, 
18S7. 

27. John P. Buchanan, 1891-1893. Inaugurated January 19, 
1891. 

28. Peter Turney, 1893-189 — . Inaugurated January 16, 1893. 



Secretaries of State from 1792. 

Daniel Smith, Territorial Secretary, 1792-96. 

William Maclin, April 9, 1 796-1 807. 

Robert Houston, March 31, 1807-11. 

W. G. Blount, March 31, 1811-15. 

William Alexander, March 30, 18 15-18. Died. 

Daniel Graham, appointed August 26, 1818-30. Resigned. 

T. H. Fletcher, appointed September, 1830-32. 

Samuel G. Smith, March i, 1832-35. 



2l6 THE HISTORY OF TENNESSKK. 

lyiike Lea, December 4, 1835-39. 
John S. Young, December 4, 1839-47. 
W. B. A. Ramsey, December 3, 1847-55. 
F. N. W. Burton, December 4, 1855-59. 
J. E. R. Ray, December 5, 1859-65. 

E. H. East, appointed in 1862 by Andrew Johnson, Military 
Governor, served to April, 1865. 
A. J. Fletcher, 1865-70. 
T. H. Butler, May 23, 1870-73. 
Charles N. Gibbs, February i, 1873-81. 
David A. Nunn, February 12, 1881-85. 
John Allison, Jr., February 12, 1885-89. 
Charles A. Miller, February 12, 1889-93. 
W. S. Morgan; February 13, 1893. 



Comptrollers — Office Created in 1835. 

Daniel Graham, January 23, 1836-43. 

Felix K. Zollicoffer, October 4, 1843-49. 

B. N. Sheppard, October 15, 1849-51. 

Arthur R. Crozier, October 15, 1851-55. 

James C. Luttrell, October 16, 1855-57. 

James T. Dunlap, October 15, 1857, to April, 1862. 

Joseph S. Foster, appointed by Andrew Johnson, Military 
Governor, 1862-65. 

J. R. Dillin, elected April 25, 1865, failed to qualify, being a 
member of the Legislature that elected him, and ineligible. 

S. W. Natchett, May, 1865, to October, 1866. 

G. W. Blackburn, October, 1866-70. 

E. R. Pennebaker, June, 1870-73. 

W. W. Hobb, January 15, 1873, to May, 1873. 

John C. Burch, May, 1873-75. 

James L- Gaines, January 15, 1875-81. 



STATK OKKICERS. 217 

James N. Nolen, January 15, 1881-83. 
P. P. Pickard, January 15, 1883, to February 28, 1889. 
J. W. Allen, February 28, 1889, February i, 1893. 
James A. Harris, February i, 1893. 



Treasurers from 1796. 

The act of April 13, 1796, and Territorial act of September, 
1794, Chapter 9, provided for two District Treasurers, viz.: Dis- 
tricts of Mero and Washington and Hamilton. Act of October 
25, 18 13, changed the name of Treasurer of Washington and 
Hamilton to Treasurer of Hast Tennessee, and Treasurer of 
Mero to Treasurer of West Tennessee. The District of Mero 
was also known as the District of Mero, Robertson and Win- 
chester. Act of November i, 1827, created the offices of Treas- 
urer of Western District, at Jackson, Tennessee; Treasurer of 
Washington and Hamilton and Hast Tennessee, at Knoxville; 
and Treasurer of Mero, at Nashville. The Constitution of 1834 
provided for one Treasurer for the State, to be elected by the 
Legislature for two 3'ears. 

Daniel Smith, Territorial Secretary, acted as Treasurer from 
1792 to September, 1794. 

Landon Carter, Territorial Treasurer of Washington and Ham- 
ilton, 1794 to July 9, 1800. 

Howell Tatum, Territorial Treasurer of IMero, 1794 to April, 
1796. 

William Black, Mero, 1796 to September 26, 1797. 

Robert Searcy, Mero, 1 797-1 803. 

John Maclin, Washington and Hamilton, 1800-03. 

Thomas McCorry, Washington and Hamilton, 1803-13. 

Thomas Crutcher, Mero, 1803-13. 

Thomas McCorry, Hast Tennessee, 1813-15. 

Thomas Crutcher, West Tennessee, 1813-36. 



21 8 THK HISTORY OF TKNNKSSBK. 

Matthew Nelson, East Tennessee, 1813-27. 
Miller Francis, East Tennessee, 1827-36. 
James Caruthers, Western District, 1827-36. 
Miller Francis, State, February 6, 1836-43. 
Matthew Nelson, State, 1843-45. 
Robert B. Turner, 1845-47. 
Anthony Dibbrell, 1847-55. 
G. C. Torbett, 1855-57. 
W. Z. McGregor, 1857-65. 
R. E- Stanford, 1865 to December 20, 1866, 
John R. Henry, appointed December 24, 1866, resigned No- 
vember I, 1868. 

W. H. Stillwell, appointed November i, 1868-69. 

J. E. Rust, 1869-71. 

William Morrow, 1871-77. 

M. T. Polk, 1877-83. 

Atha Thomas, 1883-85. 

J. W. Thomas, 1385 to October, 1886. Died. 

Atha Thomas, appointed October 26, 1886-89. 

M. F. House, February i, 1889-93. 

E. B. Craig, February 3, 1893 — 



Superintendents of Public Instruction. 

This office was created in 1835, abolished in 1843, re-created 
from 1867 to 1870, and again created in 1873. 
Robert H. McEwen, 1836-40. 
Robert P. Currin, 1840-41. 
Scott Terry, 1841-43. 
L. R. Stanford, 1865-67. 
John Eaton, Jr., 1867-69. 
A. J. Tipton, 1869-71. 
John M. Fleming, 1873-75. 



STATE OFFICKKS. 219 



Leon Trousdale, 1875-81. 
W. S. Doak, 1881-1882. 
G. S. W. Crawford, 1882-83. 
Thomas H. Paine, 1883-87. 
Frank M. Smith, 1887-91. 
W. R. Garrett, 1891-93. 
Frank M. Smith, 1893— 



Commissioners of Agriculture. 

The Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines was estab- 
lished in 1854, the Governor being ex officio President. E. G. 
Eastman was elected Secretar}- and served to the w^ar. By act 
of March 4, 1875, the office of Commissioner was created, and 
the department established on its present basis. 

J. B. Killebrew, 1875-81. 

A. W. Hawkins, 1881-83. 

A. J. McWhirter, 1883-87. 

B. M. Hord, 1887-91. 
D. G. Godwin, 1891-93. 
T. F. P. Allison, 1893— 



Attorneys-General. 

The office of Attorne3'-General and Reporter for the State was 
created in 1831. 

George T. Yerger, 1831-39. 

Return J. Meigs, 1839 to November, 1839. 

West H. Humphre3\s, 1839-51. 

W. G. Swan, 1851-54. 

John L. T. Sneed, 1854-59. 

John W. Head, 1859 to the war. 



2 20 



THS HISTORY OF TENNESSEE. 



Thomas H. Coldwell, 1865-70. 
Joseph B. Heiskell, 1870-78. 
Benjamin J. Lea, 1878-86. 
George W. Pickle, 1886— 



Librarians. 



The office of Librarian was created in 1854, with the Secretary 
of State ex officio Librarian prior to that time. 
Return J. Meigs, 1854-61. 
John E. Hatcher, 1861-65. 
A. Gattinger, 1865-71. 
Mrs. Paralee Haskell, 1 871-81. 
Mrs. S. K. Hatton, 1881-87. 
Mrs. S. P. Lowe, 1887-91. 
Mrs. Linnie Williams, 1891 — 



Aggregate Population of the State. 



COUNTIES. 


1790. 


1800. 


1810. 


1820. 


1830. 


1840. 


1850. 


1860. 


1870. 


1880. 


1890. 


Anderson 






3959 

8242 

■3259 

8839 

■■2668 


4668 
16012 

■■5065 
11258 

"4224 


5310 
30396 

"4648 
11028 

"5110 


5658 
20546 
4772 
5676 
11745 
738n 
6149 
7163 
12362 
5372 

"9474 


6938 

21511 

6315 

5959 

12424 

12259 

6068 

8982 

15967 

6296 

■"9369 


7068 

21584 

8463 

4459 

13270 

11701 

6712 

9509 

17437 

7124 

7258 

964^3 


8704 

24333 

8234 

4870 

14237 

11652 

7445 

10502 

19447 

7909 

6678 

9321 


10820 

26025 

9680 

5617 

15985 

12124 

10005 

11859 

22103 

10019 

7956 

■13373 

61^87 
14804 
22894 
14109 

4538 
7902() 

8498 


15128 


Bedford 

Benton 

Bledsoe 






24739 
11230 
6134 


Blount 




5587 


17589 


Bradley 




13607 


Campbell 

Cannon 




13486 
12197 


Carroll 

Carter 

Cheatham 

Chester ..... 

(Uaiborne 




"4813 


■■4196 
■■4798 


"4835 
"55O8 


9397 
6414 

"■8470 


23630 
13389 
S845 
9069 
15103 


Clav 






7260 


Cocke...: 

Coffee 






5154 


4892 


6017 


6992 

8184 


8300 
8351 


10408 
9689 


12458 
10237 


16523 
13827 
15146 


Cumberland . 

Davidson 

Decatur 


"3459 


■■9965 


15668 


2()154 


1 
"28122^ "36569 


"38882 
6003 


3460 

47055 

()276 


34(3'i 
62S97 

7772 


5376 

108174 

8995 



AGGREGATE POPULATION OF THE STATE, 



221 



COUNTIES. 



DeKalb 

Dickson 

Dyer 

Fayette 

Fentress 

Franklin.... 

(iibson 

Giles 

Grainger 

Greene 

Grundy 

Hamblen.... 
Hamilton ... 

Hancock 

Hardeman . 

Hardin 

Hawkins .... 
Haywood.... 
Henderson.. 

Henry 

Hickman 

Houston 

Humphreys 

.Tackson 

.Tames 

.Jefferson 

.fohnson 

Knox 

Lake 

Lauderdale . 
Lawrence .... 

Lewis 

Lincoln 

Jjoudon 

Macon 

Madison 

Marion 

Marshall 

Maury 

McMinn 

McNairy 

Meigs 

Monroe 

Montgomery. 

Moore 

Morgan , 

Obion 

Overton 

Perry 

Pickett 

Polk 

Putnam 

Rhea 

Koane 

Robf^rtson... 
Rutherford 
iScott 



1790. 



7741 



1800. 



7367 
7610 



1810. 



4516 



5730 



4546 
6397 
9713 



6970 



6563 



9017 



12446 



1820. 



5190 



16571 



12558 
7651 
11324 



1830. 



7643 



2583 



1511 
5401 



7309 



10171 



1387 



Sequatchie... 

S«^vipr 

Shelby 

Smith 

Stcvviirt 



6104 



821 



1462 
10949 



4067 
7593 



8953 



7265 

1904 

8652 

2748 

15620 

5801 

18703 

10066 

14410 



2276 



11655 
4868 

13683 
5334 
8748 

12249 
8119 



1840. 



5868 

7074 

4484 

21501 

3550 

12033 

13689 

21494 

10572 

16076 



8175 



6187 



11801 



13034 



3271 
14761 



10359 



8021 



5643 



4280 



3619 



3419 



4294 



2504 
5581 
7270 
10265 



22089 
1623 



2529 
12219 



14498 



5411 
22075 



14563 

8245 
15035 
13870 
118751 
14906 

8618 



1850. 



8016 

8404 

6361 

26719 

4454 

13768 

19o48 

25949 

17824 

17824 

2773 



10075 
5660 
17456 
10328 
13370 
17259 
13164 
18233 
9397 



1860. 



10573 
9982 
10536 
24327 
.5054 
13848 
21777 
26166 
19004 
19004 
3093 



1870. 



5195 
12872 

12076 

2658 

15485 

"3435 
7121 

21493 



11594 

5508 



27665 
14460 
569 



1676 



7128 
2384 



4215 

789 

9938 

19552 



4595 4772 

364 

11('49 17580 

I 42'i2l 8397 



13708 
14349 



16530 

6070 

14555 

28186 

12719 

93.S5 

4794 

120561 

16927 



6422 
15673 

"13204 
3705 
18807 

"5169 
92>^0 
4438 

23492 

6948 
21470 

6314 
15616 
29520 
13906 
12864 

4889 
118741 
21045 



13258 
7020 
17769 
11214 
16162 
19232 
14491 
19133 
9312 



2582 
2099 
8242 
7094 



8186 
11341 
13272 
26134 



5717 
5648 
19906 
6968 



2660 
4814 
9279 i 
74191 



3430 

7633 

11211 

5821 



35701 6338 



3985! 
109^8 
13801 i 
14280, 



9096 
11725 

"16043 

5018 

22813 

""755'9 
9320 
2241 

22828 

"'7296 
21535 
6190 
14592 
32498 
13555 
34732 
4(567 
12607 
20895 



11425 

9:^0 

13706 

26145 

4717 

14970 

25666 

32413 

21668 

21668 

3250 



17241 

7148 

18074 

11768 

'7 1 



1583' 
25094 
14217 
20380 
9856 



6442 
14721 
21179 

85871 



4415 
12185 
16145 
2*»122i 

1905! 

"am 

311571 
18412 
97191 



3.3.5.3 
12817 
12637 

6042 

■"8726 
8558 
4991 

1.52()5 
27918 
3519 
2120 
9122 
48092 
l(;"i")7 
9896 



9326 
12583 

"l947i 
5852 

2899U 
2428 

10838 
7601 
1986 

28050 

'""6633 
23480 

6841 
16207 
S(i289 
13969 
12726 

4511 
12589 
24747 



2969 
15581 
11297 

6925 

""7369 

8698 

5538 

15622 

16166 

33289 

40,54 

2335 

11028 

76378 

159J14 

12019 



1880. 



14813 
124(]0 
15118 
31871 
5941 
1717> 
32685 
36014 
12384 
24005 
4592 
10187 
23642 
9098 
22921 
14793 
20610 
26053 
17430 
22142 
12095 
4295 
11379 
12008 
518' 
1.5846 
7766 
391;^ 
3968 
14918 
10383 
2181 
26960 
9148 
9321 
30874 
10910 
19259 
39904 
15064 
17271 
711 
14283 
28481 
623:3 
51.56 
22912 
12153 
7174 



7269 
11501 

7073 
1523 
18862 
S6741 

6021 

25(1.5 
15.511 
78430 
17799 
12<)90 



1890. 



15650 
1.3645 

19878 
28878 

.58929 
35859 
a4957 
13196 
26614 

11418 
53482 
10.342 
21029 
17698 
22246 
23558 
16.336 
21070 
14499 
5.390 
11720 
13:325 
4^-03 
16478 
8858 
59557 
5304 
18756 
12286 
2.555 
27:3S2 
9273 
178;i0 
15510 
10878 
30497 
15411 
18906 
38112 
6930 
15:32i) 
296l>7 
5975 
7639 
27273 
12039 
778.5 
4736 
8:361 
136S;3 
12647 
17418 
20078 
35097 
9794 
3027 
187()1 
112740 
184(14 
12193 



222 



THK HISTORY OP TBNNBSSKE). 



COUNTIES. 


1790. 


1800. 


1810. 


1820. 


1830. 


1840. 


1850. 


1860. 


1870. 


1880. 


1890. 


Sullivan 


4447 
2196 


10218 
4616 


6847 
13729 


7015 
19211 


10073 

20569 
5317 


10736 

22445 

6800 


11742 
22717 

8887 


13552 
22030 
10705 


13136 
33711 

14884 


18321 

23625 

21033 

6646 

3645 

10260 

2933 

14079 

16181 

21301 

24538 

11176 

28313 

28747 


20879 


8uinner 

Tipton 


23668 
24271 

58;W 


XTnicoi 




















4619 


















6117 

2581 
11147 
14829 

9115 
18216 

9381 
23827 
26072 


7605 
2725 
12714 
16317 

20209 

2075.> 

9375 

25328 

25881 


11459 


\7aii Riirpn 














2674 
10179 
13861 

8170 
14608 
11444 
27201 
27443 


2863 


Wiirrcn 






5725 
7740 


10384 
9557 
2459 

"8701 
20640 
18730 


15210 
10995 
6013 
4797 
9967 
26638 
25472 


10803 
11751 
7705 
9870 
10747 
27006 
24460 


14413 


Washington.. 
Wavne 


5872 


6379 


2U354 
11417 


Weakley 

White 

Williamson... 
Wilson 




"2868 
3261 


"4028 
13153 
11952 


2^955 
12348 
26321 

27148 








Totals 


35G91 


105602 


261727 


422771 


681904 


829210 


1002717 


1109801 


1258520 


1542359 


1767518 



INDEX. 



PA OK. 

Aborigines 21 

Adams, J. Q 77,78 

Adams, John 55, //, 78 

African Slavery 61, 78, 97, 104, 108, 132 

Agricultural Society 83 

Alcorn, Colonel 64 

Alien l.aw 57 

Algonquins, Indians 10 

Allison, T. F. P 150 

Alliance. 145 

Anderson, Fort 147 

Army of Tennessee 123, 128 

Asylums 83 

Bate. W. B 128.142. 143 

Banks 62. 73. 78, 80 

Bean, William 27 

Beasley. J. R 142 

Beauregard. General 121 

Bell, .John 90, 98. 116 

Benton, Jesse 63, 61 

Bee, (ieneral 118 

Billot" Riglits 40 

Black Hawk War 88 

Black Warrior 17 

])ledsoe's Lick 36 

Blount. Willie 59 

IJlount, William 49, 51, 53, 55, 56. 59 

Blount College 41 

Boone, Daniel 21. 24, 26 

Boyd'sCreek 40 

Bragg. General 123, 125. 126. 127, 128 

British 30. 61. 62. 67, 70. 71, 72 

Brown. Jacob 29 

Brown, James 77 

Brown, Neil S 102 

Brown, Aaron V 97. 102 

Brown, John C 137, 138 

Brownlow. G. W 132. 134, 135. 

Buckner, General 120, 126l 



pa(;e 

Buchanan, J. P 145, 146 

Buchanan, James 99 

Buell, General 121, 123, 124. Vz5 

Burr, Aaron 55,60 

Byrd, (Jolonel 26 

Cdtawbas 13 

Calloway, Samuel 21 

Cabinets 87 

(Campbell, William 36 

Campbell, George W 66 

Campbell, Governor 1U3 

Carter, Landon 53 

Carter, W. B : 85 

Cannon, Newton 89 

Carroll, William 60. 63. 74. 75. 79. 88. 94 

Caruthers, R. L 110 

Cherokees 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. 27, 30, 40, 59 

Chickasaw? 17. 22, 23, 25. 27. 50. 51, 52, 73 

Cheatham. B. F 138 

Chiska 19 

Choctaws 23 

Christianity 36. 37 

Clarke. General G. R 46 

Clay. Henry 77.78.86.94.96 

Cleburn, General 128 

Cottee, General 64, 6fi 

Courts of Pleas 31 

Cocke. William 41.53.65 

( 'oal Creek 146. 147 

Cook. G. W 81 

Confederate Generals 129 

(Constitutions 8.5, 132, 137 

Crawford, G. S. W 144 

( reeks 25, 27, 42, 59, 63. 64. 66 ■ 

Crittenden, G. B 120 

Crockett, Robert 28 

Crockett. David 89 

('ummings. Rev. Charles 30 

Davis. Jetferson 115. 124 



INDEX. 



223 



T^ rn .. PAGE.' PAKE. 

P,f [onti l.j; Iberville ID 

I)e Peyster 37; Indians 9-16. 22. 23, 24. 25, 63, 64. 65, 6fi 

i)e .^oto. Hernando IG. 17. 18. 19. 20. 50 Insane Asylums 82.83 

necatur bort 5:] Iroquois 10 

] eposit. Fort 64 Island Flats 30 

f>ix, !>• I-. 8i Jackson. General Andrew 38.51.55.63 

l)lstranc•hls^" Aft 133 64. 65. 66. 69. 70. 71. 73. 74. 77. 78. 86. 87. 88. 

J)obbs. Governor 26 92. 93. 94. 

Jjoak, Kev. S. L 36 Jolinson. Andrew..l07. 108. 110. 125. 131, m 

Doak W.S.. 144! Johnson. A. S 119.121.123 

Done son, bort 1201 Johnson. Joseph E 128 

Hone son. John 46, 47, 481 Johnson. Cave 91 

] one son A. .T 108| .Toliette 18 

|)onglas. Stephen A 116. 117i Jones. James C 96 

i^rafirging Canoe 30 Judicial Districts 53.60 

Katon. John H 90 Kelly, John D 98 

livdwards, K. M 141 Key, D. M 139 

EUet, Jr., Charles 121 Killebrew. J. B 144 

Einucfau 66 King's Mountain 36.37 

Entry lakers 32 Know Nothing Party 108 

Enotaohopco 66; Knox. Colonel James 28 



.26 Ku-Klux 119. i:« 



Etch 

Ethridge Emerson 140| Lambert, Jeremiah 3 

Evans. H. Clay.. 149 Lane. Tidence 36 



Everett. Edward 116 

>oderal Generals 129 

Ferguson. Patrick 37 

Fleming. John M 138 

Floyd. J(.!in B 120, 121 

Forrest, X. B 121 198 

Fo.'«ter, Robert C ' 72 

Fostei. F. H 91.1)7 

Franklin "" 

Franchise Act 



La Salle 18 

Lee, Robert E 128 

Lincoln, Abraham Ill, 116, 123, 132 

Lookout Mountain 137 

Loudon, Fort 23.26 

McMinn. Joseph 72,73 

Marquette IS 

Marling. John L 105 

39. 40. 41. 421 Martiji. Governor 41 

133t Masonic Fraternity 58.105 



Fry. Speed S ... 120 Maynard, Horace ..1^^^^. 139 

>ngitiye_Slave Law 104 1 Medical Society 8.3 



Fusseli, Joseph H 142 

<rayos(^ 51 



^Mexican War 97 

Mitchel. General 12 



99. Montcalm 19 



Morgan, G. W 125 

Murrell, John A 95 



Gaines, General 

Garrett, W. R 141; 

Gentry, M. P 107 

Generals, Federal 129 Nolicliucky 29 

Generals, Confederate 129 Xashborough 47 

Geography ot Tennessee 153 1 New Orleans 69,70.71 

Geo.logv ot lennessee 160' Oliver Springs 146 



Gibbs, General 71 

Gillespie, Fort 29 

Godwin. D, G 146 

(trant. General U. S 119, 120, 121, 123, 125 

<ireat Trace 2o 

Grundy. Felix 89, 91. 94 

Guani. National I47 

3LUI. William ' .' 80 

Harris, Isham G 109, 111, 118. 125 

Hawkins, Alvin G 141 

Hawkins, Samuel 146 

Hawkins, A. W I44 

Haynes, l.an.lon C 44 .v.-.. v. 

Henderson, Colonel Richard 24l Santa Anna 

Henry, Gnsfavus A 112 Schools 



Oconostota 24 

Paine, Thomas H 141 

Penitentiary 81.82 

Polk, James K 93, 94, 98. VS 

Population 85,94,109. 144 

Porter. James D 138, 139 

Pres'dential Vote 95. 116 

Railroads 93 

Reconsfruction 130. 131 

Ked Eagle 64. 66 

Roane, Archibald 5(5, 57 

Foliertson. James 46, 47. 48 

Rosecrans. (Jeneral 126 

80 



u r> . 41.59.72.94.95.150 

Hf.nry. f «>rt. ■ 12o| Senter. D. W. C 135 

Hilhard. H. W 112 St-re.<.sion Convention Ill 

Hood. General. 12S Sedition Law 57 

Horticultural Society s.S Sevier. John 25. 36. 37. 38. 40, 41. 42. 52. 53 

hord, U. M 141 Sheridan, (Jeneral 124 

Houston, Saniiiel ,so Sherman, (Jeneral 123. 127 

Humphreys, West H 88. Shelby, Isaac 36.42.51 



224 



THK HISTORY OF TKNNKSSEK. 



pa(;e. 

Sliiloh 121 

Six Nations 25 

Sniith. Franlc M 150 

Smith, E. Kirby 128 

South Boundary 77 

St. Louis. Fort 18, 19 

State Debt 138, 139, 140, 141, 743, 144 

Stanwix, Fort 25 

Stephens. A. H 115 

Stokes, W. B 135 

Stone River 47. 126 

Strother, Fort 64, 65, 66 

Sumter. Fort 112 

Tallapoosa 66 

Talladega, Fort 65 

Taylor, (Teneral Dick 128 

Taylor, Robert L 145 

Taylor, Alfred A 145 

Tecumseh 63 



PAGE. 

Thomas. General G. H 120, 127 

Tipton. John 40. 41 

Toljaceo 75 

Tohopeka 66 

Totten. A.O. W 112 

Trousdale, William 102 

Turney, Peter 148 

Union Convention 117, 131 

Verrazani 11 

Watauga 27, 28. 29. 30, 31, 37, 40 

Walker. Dr 47 

Weatherford, William 63 

White. Hugh L 88,93 

Wilson, S. F 140 

\insener. W. H 137 

Worth. G«^neral 101 

Wright, John V 140 

Zenobia. Father 18 

Zollicoffer. Felix 119, 120 



The Civil (joVei^nment of Tenne^^ee and the United ^tate^. 

FR,IOE, 40 OEN"TS. 

In this book everything of interest about our government is plainly discussed 
and any child can easily comprehend it. All our children should be familiar 
with thegovernmentof their State and Nation so they can form a clear conception 
of the requirements of citizenship. Every State otHcer and his function is here 
clearly outlined and intelligently written. That you may see clearly the scope 
of this book, the author gives the contents, which are as follows: Of Civil Govern- 
ment Generally. County Districts. Courts. The Legislature. Officers of the Statp. 
The Constitution of Tennessee. Juries Trial, and Judgments. Revenue and 
Taxation. Government of critics. Charitable Institutions. Federal (-'ourts. Ex- 
ecutive Department of the United States. Congress. Revenue of the T'nited 
States. Crimes and Punishments. The Constitution of Tf^nnessee. Constitution 
of the United States. Congressional Districts, Chancery Divisions. Circuit and 
Criminal Courts. General Assembly. Governors of Tennessee from 1790. The 
author desires to correspond with schools for its adoption. Do not adoT)t a Civil 
Government until you see mine. This book was written by G. D. FREE, A. ^1., 
Church Hill, Ky. Send for it. 



MAP OF KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE. 

Got a fine Map of your State. It is the prettiest and best issued. You need it 
in your home, ottice and school. 

Louisville (Ky.) Times: A very handsome map of Kentucky and Tennessee 
has just been published by George D. Free. Church Hill. Ky.. along with a list 
of the Governors in each State from the date of its foundation down to the present 
time. There are also tables showing the poi)ulation of citie"^ in both Common- 
wealths, and the total r>opulation by counties as given by the last ceiisus. The 
map is well drawn, distinct in outline, and sIk^ws every point of interest in each 
co\inty. All the railroad extensions and connections are accurately placed. It is 
just tiie thing for ofljce use. 

^Memphis ( lenn.) Scimitar: A wall man of Tennessee and Kentucky has been 
i**sued l>y (Jeorge D. Free, of Church JHill. Ky. It is not so large as to he in the way 
and yet large enough to be perfectly plain. It would be an ornament to the finest 
r»tfice wall. The margin contains the names of the officials of both States, popula- 
tion of cities and counties, and much other valuable information. The price is 60 
cents. 

Prof. H. D. Huflaker. Co. Supt. and Editor of Southern Teacher. Chattanooga, 
Tenn.: Am well pleased with your map of Kentucky and Tennessee. 
It is the best map of these States. Send for it. 



